Rising Sun
by seanzilla115
Summary: Takes place in the same universe as Gammatron's HEART dot Batch. Takes place after Megaman Star Force 3 in an altered timeline. A great evil is awakening just as Sonia is ending her career in television. Infected with something strange, Lyra Note must get used to changes in her while also dealing with the strongest beings she and Shooting Star Megaman have ever faced.
1. Painting 1

**SZ: *sighs as he burned the last of the scripts for the old version* There...that's the last of them.**

 **GammaTron: It stinks that it didn't do good. I thought we did a good job with it, too.**

 **SZ: Yeah...I guess people didn't like how we approached it in the first place. But...I still have the casting notes and such, so we can rebuild the story from scratch...though I think another reason why it did so poorly is because of where I tried to place it...couldn't' decide on either the Megaman crossover section, or the regular one.**

 **GT: True. Well, hopefully, they'll like this improved one better. And if not? Well, someone go get Sly Cooper.**

 **SZ: Yeah...in any case, let's start this off. Like last time, this story will take place a year or so after the events of Starforce 3, and will take place in the same universe as Gt's HeartdotBatch story.**

 **GT: And, now this is important, we altered the timeline for the three games since, well, it felt like tech evolved too quickly for how old they were. I mean, they were just starting to use that solid denpa tech in Star Force 2 and all of a suddenly in 3, they've got AI named Wizards and all kinds of new stuff that wasn't in the other games or were too quick to have been made in such a short period of time between the two games.**

 **SZ: That is true.**

 **GT: Exactly. If I can set up a theory; I would say that the events of 2 and 3 are around four years apart while the events of 1 and 2 are canon in time apart, being a few months apart after the end of 1 and the start of 2 though...if Star Force 2 takes place during the summer, that means that this was one of the fastest games in terms of how long in-game time is compared to other games in the other games.**

 **SZ: Yeah. One last thing, while we'll use some of the english names and such, there will be some japanese dialogue in here and such**

 **GT: We'll try to add translations at the end of the chapter for people who want to know what we mean with those words.**

 **SZ: Hai. But before we finally begin, disclaimers. Neither of us own the Megaman series, or the series we'll be using in this. We do though own any OCs and OC EM beings that'll appear in this story.**

 **GT: Right. So let's start!**

 **SZ: Yosh!**

* * *

It was a calm, quiet day within the city of Echo Ridge, a cool calming breeze blowing through as a few clouds floated within the clear blue sky. On the Wave Road above the city, a pair of teenagers around 16 were sitting on it.

"So they're not renewing 'Lyrical High' for another season?" Megaman asked.

"Nope," Lyra Note replied, "And I'm kinda glad that it isn't. Never say that working on a TV show is easy, because I'll kick you to the curb after all the stuff that happened off-set. And I thank Lyra every single day for deleting any bloopers."

 **-...Ugh...bored-** Omega-Xis muttered to himself.

"When there isn't a virus around for you to fight, you're always bored," Lyra rolled her eyes.

 **-I'm serious, you out of tune harp! Me and Geo fought world destroying entities before, and now normal Virus busting just seems so...boring now these days!-** Omega-Xis complained before materializing by him, "Seriously, I don't even feel like I'm getting the equivalent of beating up a punching bag when it comes to 'fighting' those stronger G Viruses anymore."

"Maybe if you'd try to limit yourself, like use only one theme of BattleCard like Sonia and I do at times, instead of just going all out, you'll have more excitement."

"No way! I go all out no matter what!"

Megaman and Lyra Note rolled their eyes as they started to ignore the two before Megaman spoke up, "So, what do you plan to do now that you don't have to deal with television anymore."

"Well...I was thinking of just spending a year traveling Electopia," Lyra Note shrugged, "Maybe see some places I haven't really seen when traveling on the Wave Road."

"Ahh...I see," Megaman noted.

"Yeah," Lyra Note nodded, "Though...Even with Lyra, it'd kinda be lonely."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lyra Note replied, "Maybe...Do you think you'd like to come with us?"

"Oh hell no!" Omega-Xis's bark made the two look at him, "Ever since the kid's secret got out-even though it was for a good reason-, no luck for privacy outside of the Wave Roads! It's been six months, dammit, you damn paparazzi!" he shook a fist at the sky, "I WILL FIND YOU ALL AND MAUL YOU TO DEATH, YOU VILE SPIES!"

"He hasn't been able to sneak into the lawnmower for months now," Megaman whispered, "Last time he tried, tabloids were all over it with those weird ones saying that he's a servant and not my partner...or that he's secretly a girl using a tough guy persona to hide 'her' love of gardening."

"...Snrk."

"You even laugh one time, I will personally pluck every one of your damn strings out, you damn out of tune harp," Omega-xis growled in annoyance as he glared at Lyra.

"Aw~ What's wrong? Mega can't tend to her little garden?" Lyra asked, holding back another bit of laughter.

"...okay, that's it! Come here, you harp-y!" Omega-xis snapped as he chased after Lyra, the guitar/lyre bouncing out of Lyra Note's hands and down the Wave Road, laughing loudly.

"...Why does she keep antagonizing him like that?" Megaman asked as he and Lyra Note watched the two run across the Wave Road.

"I'm not sure," Lyra Note replied, "Though… 'Harp-y'? I don't think he's trying anymore."

"I was just thinking the same," Megaman admitted.

"He must really be bored if he can't think of anything better," Lyra Note said.

"Get back here, you damn out of tune harp! I-!" Omega-Xis began before something blurred by him and Lyra, "...What the crap was that?"

"I'm not sure," Lyra replied.

"...Dibs."

"What?" Lyra looked at Omega-Xis.

"I called dibs on beating it up!" Omega-Xis declared before zipping after the blur.

"Ugh! Dumb mutt," Lyra sighed as she made her way back to where Lyra Note and Megaman were, "Omega-Xis just ran after a blur!"

"Huh? A blur?" Megaman repeated as he and Lyra Note stood up.

"That's what I said, now come one. Let's hurry after him before he ends up doing something stupid."

"..."

"..."

"...Correction: Let's hurry after him before he ends up doing something _else_ stupid."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Alright...where did you go?" Omega-Xis muttered as he looked around for that blur, "Where are you?" he sniffed the air, "Eugh. Ech. That way!" he zipped off, "Ah-hah! There you are!" he tackled into the blur, sending both tumbling along the Wave Road, "RAWR!"

Whatever the blur was, it zipped right out of Omega-Xis grip before dodging a round of plasma shots.

"Mega!" Megaman called as he and Lyra Note skidded to a halt beside the AM-Ian.

"I have no idea what it is. It smells like ashes, soot, blood, and brimstone. ...I love it!" Omega-Xis grinned, his body twitching, "An unknown opponent...Finally, some excitement! Like that weird transmission wave I found last week said…" he shot off at the blur, jumping on it, "IKUZE! IKUZE! IKUZE!"

"...Okay, we have _got_ to make him see a doctor," Lyra Note sweatdropped.

"Agreed," Megaman nodded slowly as the blur zoomed past them, almost crashing into them before it came to a stop.

The blur turned to be a strange looking pitch black sphere that seemed to have some crimson-red data lines on it with black flame-like denpa floating off it as it hovered. Behind it appeared to be a small cube that was covered in the same flames, some of them dripping onto the Wave Road, almost like ink. All the while, Omega-Xis was clawing and biting on the sphere, attempting to break it open. It spun around like a top, sending Omega-Xis crashing into the Wave Road.

"WHOO!" Omega-Xis whooped, "Come on! Come on, you stupid beach ball! Bring it on!" his jaw dropped as he watched the sphere fly off, "HEY! GET BACK HERE! I HAVE SIX MONTHS OF REPRESSED ANGER TO SHED AND YOU ARE MY VENTING BALL!"

The sphere seemed to ignore him as it zipped off through the Wave Road, leaving black trails in its wake as it zoomed off. Omega-Xis shot off after the sphere with Megaman and Lyra Note quick in pursuit.

"Grr...come here, you…!" Omega-Xis growled as he inched closer to the sphere before grabbing, "Gotcha! Now you...something's burning…" he sniffed the air before looking down, a burning sensation in his hands as the flame-like denpa the sphere produced seemed to flare a bit, "...Hot...hot! HOT! HOT! HOT!" he threw the sphere onto the ground and began to blow of his claws to try to extinguish the fire on them, "Why you…! Hm?" he looked down to see the small cube that had been covered in flames, "...Ah...I see now." The sphere lunged for the cube only for Omega-Xis to bat it away, "Hah! Now you've gotta fight me!" the sphere slammed into him as it flew after the cube, "Oh come on!"

* * *

"I think we lost them," Megaman noted.

"Ohh...That mutt…!" Lyra growled in annoyance before the cube landed in Lyra Note's hand, "...Where did this come from?"

"I...don't know…" Lyra Note replied, blinking a bit as she looked at the cube in her hand, "...I think th-"

"Uh...Sonia?" Megaman spoke up, catching her attention as he pointed forward, causing her to look to see the sphere Omega-Xis was chasing charging right at her, the lines on it reforming into a single, glaring 'eye' as the black flames flared off it.

"What is that?!" Lyra Note yelped, jumping out of the way of the sphere's tackle at her.

"I don't know, but it looks mad!" Lyra shouted as Lyra Note quickly rolled out of the way, causing the sphere to miss again.

"Predation: Cannon!" Megaman declared before his left arm/hand shifted into a cannon and fired at the sphere. However, much to his shock, the blast bounced off the sphere before disintegrating, "What the...?!"

The sphere began to spin in place rapidly, the flames surrounded it shifting into a semi-large saw as it charged right at the two, cutting up the Wave Road as bits and pieces of it burned away from the black flames. The two jumped out of the way and onto separate parts of the Wave Roads.

"...Maybe some water will put those flames out," Lyra Note guessed as she pulled out a chip, "Predation: Aqua shot!"

The sphere stopped spinning in place as it quickly turned around, seeing Sonia fire of a blast of water at it. However, once the water seemed to get close, it began to evaporate as the black flame-like denpa surrounding the sphere flared a bit.

"What the...not even water works on it?" Lyra pondered.

"Just what is this thing?" Megaman pondered as Omega-Xis finally got over.

"You stupid thing!" Omega-Xis shook a fist at the sphere, "You're pissing me off!"

The sphere ignored him as it glared at Sonia and charged at her again.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, you…!" Omega-Xis began before he noticed the cube in Lyra Note's hand when she charged the sphere's charge again, "Hey! That's the cube I threw!"

"You what?" Megaman looked at him.

"I thought it'd fight me if I threw it away," Omega-Xis replied.

"So you're the reason why it keeps aiming for us?!" Lyra snapped as Lyra Note dodged another dodge from the sphere, "I….you...mutt….!"

"Man...That thing really wants that cube badly," Omega-Xis noted, "..." he began to tap his jaw in thought, "..."

"You are not eating it!" Megaman bonked Omega-Xis on the head.

"Ow! Fine…" Omega-Xis muttered as he rubbed his head, "...Still...why the hell is that cube so damn important? ...I betcha there's something in it or something."

"Probably," Megaman nodded.

"...Only one way to find out," Omega-Xis said as he turned towards Lyra Note, who was yelping as she kept dodging the sphere, "Oi! Try and break that cube in your hand!"

"What?" Lyra Note blinked before jumping over the sphere, "This cube?"

"Yes! That damn bowling ball is hellbent on getting that thing for some reason, and I bet there's something important inside! So again, break that thing open!"

"Lyra?" Lyra Note asked.

"This thing is rather insistent on getting it back," Lyra noted as the two jumped over another attack, "Best listen for now."

"Right! Predation: Break Saber!"

The sphere 'growled' as the flames grew and charged right towards Lyra Note, intent on taking the cube back.

"Sonia...Hurry," Lyra whispered to Lyra Note as the sphere came closer and closer to her.

Lyra Note swung down and struck the cube with her sword. The cube cracked where the sword hit, releasing a light that made the sphere move away quickly, smoke coming off its body.

"...This light… What is…?" Lyra Note began as the cube started to crack more, causing the sphere to 'hiss' as it dashed off into the distance, just barely avoiding the exploding flash of light that followed once the cube shattered.

"Sonia!" Megaman grunted, blocking the light as best he could with his arm.

Lyra Note winced as she was engulfed by the flash of light, shielding her eyes as it engulfed the entire area around her and Megaman. She was barely able to crack an eye open to see bits of red mixed in the blinding light, almost as if it were trying to compliment the pure white. Another thing she noted was the light...it felt...warm, calming...soothing, almost like a mother's touch. She reached out and her hand touched a few of the red lines in the light. The lines swirled before bits of the white light and the touched swirls suddenly swirled and shot at her right in the chest. She gave a cry of surprise as she fell over as the remaining light split up into different directions. By the time the rest of the light had faded away, Lyra Note groaned on the Wave Road, her head feeling as if something had hit her with a jackhammer.

"Sonia! Sonia, are you alright?!" Megaman called out as the light began to slowly fade.

"Ugh…" Lyra Note moaned.

"She doesn't look too good," Omega-Xis noted as he floated over.

"Yeah…" Megaman nodded as he picked her up, putting a hand on her forehead, "...She's burning up."

"Yo, Lyra, you okay?" Omega-Xis asked.

"Ugh…"

"Yeah, she's okay," Omega-Xis nodded before Lyra Note split into Sonia and Lyra, "What the-?!"

Megaman barely caught Sonia before she could fall all the way through the Wave Road. He managed to get her into both his arms and felt her body was warmer than normal.

"...Let's get her back to my place," Megaman suggested.

"Right," Omega-Xis nodded, picking up Lyra, "Wow. Even Lyra's burning up."

"Ugh...hot…" Sonia and Lyra moaned quietly as Megaman and Omega-Xis carried them off.

* * *

Elsewhere, within a dense forest like area, a fox-like EM being hovered within the mist that covered the area. The radiation of its body was a darker shade of red-orange while black armor shaped like a fox covered it.

"Ugh...stupid planet...can't even look straight without hitting something," the fox muttered in a female voice as it tried to swat the mist away from its face, "Damn that Megaman..changing our King like that...I've been stuck on this stupid planet for...3-4 years now!" she sighed, "Oh, how our King has fallen. We were fine the way we were, but he just changed! Now he wants to make peace w-"

Just then, she barely noticed something hovering above at high speed, the fox faintly noticing what look like black flame-like denpa. She narrowed her eyes as she began to follow it, feeling something...familiar with it. As she followed it, the mist seemed to get denser and denser, the fox like EM-Being determined to figure out where that thing was heading. As she kept going deeper in the fog, it started to grow darker and darker, the mist starting to die down a bit as dead trees were slowly revealed one by one.

"...Now where am I?" the fox asked herself quietly as she looked around, "This place looks like it's devoid of any life." she giggled, "Ah...I hope to see what caused this. Such a lovely thing I could use as an illusion."

It was then she heard it...faint growling coming from the distance. But it wasn't like that of a lion or bear...more like that of a dragon...or a demon. As she skidded to a halt, she could see it...a large cave-like shrine, faint trails of dark denpa (at least she assumed it was denpa) flowing out from the entrance. It reminded her of when she first saw Andromeda...but far more...darker ...more...powerful than Andromeda had been.

"..." the Fox gave a slight gulp, the EM-Being wanting to leave and get far away from this place, but...something was calling out to her in that cave. Was it that thing that owned those black-denpa like flames, or was it something else? "...I can't believe I'm doing this…"

Taking a long deep breath, the fox floated into the cave-like shrine, the EM-Being feeling more of that dark 'Denpa' floating within it.

" _ **...blinded…"**_

The fox froze as she looked around. W...Was that the wind just now?

" _ **...rage…"**_

The fox froze once more when she heard it, feeling intense amount of malice and darkness within. She shook her head and went in deeper.

" _ **...delusional…"**_

She shook her head and kept pressing ahead. It was just the wind...it was just the wind…

" _ **...lust...greed…"**_

"It's just the wind, Vulpecula….it's just...the w-" the fox began with a whisper, trying to calm herself down before she bumped into something.

She moved back and looked at what she had run into. It was a tombstone made of pure obsidian. Looking around, she saw she had reached the end of the tunnel, revealing a massive chamber with the broken ceiling exposing the darkened skies and the barely visible moon above, giving a dark illumination to the chamber. Moss and fungus had overgrown what had once been a wrecked shrine of sorts behind the tombstone. Looking at it, she could make out faint markings of eight snakes intertwined with one another...no, wait. It wasn't eight snakes, but a single body with eight heads and eight tails. She looked at it and saw pure white ropes wrapped around the tombstone, looking as if they had been made that very day, a soft glow coming from them.

"...What is this?" the fox whispered as she looked at the tombstone and shrine before reaching to the ropes and yelped as something from the ropes slammed her into a wall, "Gah!"

A faint chuckle came out of nowhere, yet everywhere, _**"...those like we are unable to touch something so 'holy' and 'divine' as these ropes."**_

"?!" the fox tensed as she looked around for the voice, "Wh...who said that?"

" _ **We who...are considered 'impure'...to be 'taint' on existence…"**_ the voice continued, _**"We who embrace what...existence...truly is…"**_

"...I-I'm serious! Who said that?!" the fox demanded, though in truth...she was scared to her very core just from the voice alone.

" _ **Even if you try to lie to yourself...you know what I speak of...what it truly is out there…"**_

The fox couldn't say anything further...or rather, she couldn't. The voice...that black 'denpa'...it was truly full of malice...darkness...alluring.

" _ **It would seem...I've driven you...into silence...kitsune..."**_ the voice noted, _**"...So much within you…"**_ the fox blinked, _**"Perhaps….we could help….each other out…"**_

"..."

" _ **You...have been slighted,"**_ it continued, _**"Your cause taken from you."**_

"...I...It was not supposed to be like this!" she finally spoke, "We were in the right! We were the strongest and they were and still are a threat to our home! But...But our king was blinded! Those things...those _humans_... changed him, blinded him to our greatness! Abandoned our old way, the _true_ ways!"

" _ **Such strong malice towards those beneath you…"**_

"Of course they are beneath me! None of them can touch me nor truly fight me," the fox growled, a fire in her eyes, "But I could hurt them and give them a taste of my kind's true glorious ways instead of the 'new' and 'better' ways our king has been blinded by!"

" _ **And yet, you are unable to do so. They have surprised you with their power over the last decade since your kind has first learned of this place."**_

The fox clenched her fists, her thoughts flashing to a human wearing what she considered a freak of nature and actually sending her into a retreat the one time she tried when she managed to get to this planet.

" _ **...Quite interesting how they've come so far. Humans are far more dangerous than one could believe, but they are still meager pests…interfering with what is true..."**_

"That _thing_ he used on me… That 'Wizard' was nothing more than a pathetic and disgusting mockery of my kind and yet…"

" _ **Such malice in your voice now…"**_ the shadows seemed to flicker, _**"For so long, you must have held it all in, unable to fully release it, even with your attempt to prove your glory."**_

"...It's true," the fox frowned, "All this rage...all this hate...I'll do anything to get back at the ones who blinded my king...to destroy those _'Wizards'_...to show those humans their place!"

" _ **Very well…"**_ the shadows shifted about, earning the fox's attention as they became an island, _**"Upon this land, beneath its crust, another shrine such as this lies. Go to there and receive a blessing from me."**_

"...If this will help me in my goal, then of course," the fox nodded as the EM-Being flew off.

" _ **...Soon...this world will see darkness once more...the Sun Goddess is weak, and the Fudegami remain asleep unaware of my emissaries corrupting them…"**_ the voiced growled as the sphere Megaman and Lyra Note faced flew into the area, delving into the shadows, _**"Hmm..."**_ the sphere suddenly shot out of the shadows and slammed into a wall, a piece of the 'ceiling' landing on it, _**"YOU FOOL! WHERE IS IT?!"**_ the shadows seemed to dance in a frenzy, _**"YOU HAVE ONLY BROUGHT ME THE ARTS, NOT THE ARTIST!"**_ the shadows died down, _**"...Do not fail me again when the artist returns. Obtain the artist at all costs, even your very essence is laid upon succeeding."**_

* * *

"A virus that looks like a sphere?"

Hope looked up from putting a cold cloth on Sonia's forehead as she laid in the guest bed and at her husband and son.

"Yeah. It...It was strange," Geo replied to his father's question, "Nothing we tried was working on it. We tried water attacks on it since we assumed it was a fire type virus, but the water just evaporates on contact."

"I think I've got blisters from grabbing it," Omega-Xis noted, "And I can't even develop blisters."

"Must have been some intense heat that virus was generating," Kelvin noted, "And it was carrying a little box?"

"Yeah. I kept trying to wallop it good and then it dropped the box and started chasing it all over when I threw it away," Omega-Xis snorted.

"Uh-huh…" Kelvin nodded slowly as Hope gave Omega-Xis a disappointed look, "Keep talking, Geo."

"Right...and this is the strange part. When Sonia managed to open the box...it released a bright light, causing the sphere to flee like it was being burnt."

"...So it was some sorta vampire only to extremely bright lights?" Omega-Xis scratched his head before flinching at the glare from Hope that had evolved from the disappointed look.

"So what happened when the light faded?" Kelvin asked, "Well...aside from the obvious with your friends."

"Well...They collapsed and lost their wave change," Geo replied, "I caught Sonia before she could fall through the wave road we were on while Omega-Xis picked up Lyra and we came here as fast as we could."

"I see…" Kelvin noted as he looked over at Sonia, who was panting heavily as sweat poured off her face.

"Hot...ahh~ hot…" Sonia panted.

"The cloth's already dried," Hope realized.

 **-Hot….really hot~-** Lyra panted heavily from the VG Hunter.

Kevin held a hand to Sonia's VG Hunter on the nightstand before moving back, "Yow. That's a strong heat coming off that."

"Sonia…" Geo whispered in worry as he looked at the panting redhead.

"I'll go call Dr. Goodall and see if she can take a look at the girls," Kelvin noted as he went out, "She knows more about Wave Change than I do and I'm half EM radiation."

"Geo, can you get me a large mixing bowl of cold water and ice from the kitchen?" Hope asked as she looked at the empty small bowl by her side and the cloth on Sonia's head, "We need to break her fever."

"Got it," Geo nodded as he hurried downstairs to the kitchen.

"And I'll go check on the out-of-tune h-" Omega-Xis began before getting a stern look from Hope, "...Lyra."

"Make sure to eat some ice-themed BattleCards before you do to try to cool her down," Hope ordered.

"Yeah, yeah," Omega-Xis waved her off while swiping the offered cards from her and eating them, "?!" he held his head with a shudder, "Brain freeze…"

"Get going!" Hope ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" Omega-Xis yelped as he went into Sonia's VG Hunter **-Feels like that time I skimmed the sun near Planet FM in here, only without any plasma and fire-**

 **-How do you...think...I feel~?-** Lyra asked with a heavy pant.

 **-No idea. Now hold still and let me burp on you-**

Hope resisted the urge to facepalm as she pulled Sonia's hoodie off. She was about to move some hair off of Sonia's face before she let out a small whimper/moan, the redhead starting to toss and turn a bit.

 **-Oi! Stand still you...huh?-** Omega-Xis barked before stopping **-Uh...are you evolving or something?-**

"Evolving?" Hope repeated, looking over at the VG Hunter.

 **-Well, when we're able to handle enough energy, AM-Ians and FM-Ians have a rare, rare,** _ **rare**_ **chance of changing in some way-** Omega-Xis replied. **-And right now...it's happening to Lyra here...though I don't understand why it's so goddamn hot in here! In fact, I think it's getting hotter!-**

"Hotter?" Hope repeated before Sonia let out a loud gasp, earning her attention, "Sonia?" she moved over to her and noticed something, "?"

Sonia panted, her eyes squeezed shut as she was grabbing the sheets under her tight. A small glow was coming off the middle of her chest, directly over her heart. Hope opened her white buttoned shirt to see a heart in the shape of red swirls appear on where the light was coming from.

"Hot-hot-hot-hot-hot-hot-hot!" Omega-Xis freaked as he jumped out of the VG Hunter, his armor steaming, "Too hot in there!" sparks came off the VG Hunter, "And it's getting too hot for the VG Hunter, too!"

"Did something happen to Lyra?" Hope asked.

"You mean aside from her emanating the heat of a dwarf star in there? Yeah, she's gone pure white in color," Omega-Xis replied.

"Pure-white?" Hoep repeated.

"Yeah," Omega-Xis replied before looking at Sonia, "...Wait. Can humans evolve as well? Because I never saw that on her before. Then again, I've never seen her without that hoodie on or in something that covered the upper half of her body, even at the beach."

"That just appeared on her while you were in there," Hope explained.

"I've got the iced water and…" Geo began as he came before blushing and looking away from Sonia and her exposed pale-blue bra, "My, this is a new painting, mom."

"Geo, focus!" Hope ordered, picking up the mixing bowl filled with iced water and began to dunk the cloth into it before putting it on Sonia's head, "She's still burning up."

"So's her VG Hunter," Omega-Xis added as he pointed to the semi-melted VG Hunter, "...In fact, I think she may need to get a new one."

"Lyra's that hot?" Geo asked.

"...I didn't know you swung that way," Omega-Xis joked before Hope and Geo glared at him, "...Okay, okay. In all seriousness, I had to get out because she was burning up like a dwarf star." he turned to the VG Hunter before inhaling and letting out a loud exhale, freezing it in a block of ice as big as the bedside table, "There we go. That outta cool her off for a bit."

"Ahh….ahh…." Sonia panted.

"Geo, go get me a few more rags," Hope ordered.

"On it," Geo nodded as he rushed downstairs once more.

"Should I burp on her?" Omega-Xis asked.

"Omega-Xis…" Hope gave a warning voice while pulling a stylus out of her pocket.

"Okay! Okay! Light breeze!" Omega-Xis held his hands up with wide eyes before lightly blowing on Sonia, the ice BattleCards still in effect, before he rushed for the window and opened it.

Sonia gave a small gasp when she felt the cold air touch her skin, her hands gripping the sheets tightly once more as her legs squirmed a bit. Hope began to lightly clean the sweat off Sonia with a wet cloth, quickly dunking it back into the cold ice water and then put it on her forehead again once she was done.

"I'm back…" Geo panted as he came back into the room, holding a few rags in his arms, "These were all I could find."

"Good. Now help me lay them on her after dunking them into the water," Hope ordered.

"Wh-What?"

"She says she wants you t-" Omega-xis began.

"I heard what she said, Omega!" Geo argued, a bit of a blush on his face.

"Geo, focus! I-" Hope began when she reached for the cloth on Sonia's forehead, her eyes widening in realization, "...it's already dry again. Omega-Xis, keep the cold on her. Geo, come here and help with the cloths."

"Right/Gotcha," Geo and Omega-Xis nodded as they followed Hope's instructions.

"Good. Geo, take care of keeping the one of her forehead cold and wet," Hope ordered, giving him the dry cloth before she began to apply the others on various parts of her body once she dunked them in the water.

"MMff~ Ahh…" Sonia gasped out once the wet cloths made contact with her, a bit of steam starting to come off the moment the cloths touched her.

"Sh...she's that hot?" Geo asked.

"I would suggest we take her to a hospital, but…"

"Yeah. Bad idea with all those paparazzi still out and about," Geo frowned.

"He's not joking," Omega-Xis spoke up, pausing from blowing cold air on Sonia, "The moment we step out, those vultures will be on us within an instant."

Hope nodded.

 **-Ugh...get...me outta here!-** Lyra's voice shouted from the VG Hunter, the ice around nearly completely melted as the EM Being floated out of it, the VG Hunter melting into a puddle of sparking liquid metal, "Ugh...finally...some air."

"Huh...She's not burning anymore," Omega-Xis sighed in relief.

"Uh...Lyra? What happened to your color?" Geo asked, re-wetting the cloth and putting it back on Sonia's forehead.

"Hmm?" Lyra blinked as she looked in a nearby mirror, blinking as she noticed that she was no longer her usual baby-blue color, but now a pure white, "Did I...evolve?"

"Seems like it," Omega-Xis noted, "Though...It's kinda weak. I mean, I was expecting something...you know...more than a pallet swap." Lyra punched him, sending him out the open window and into the distance, "GAH!"

"...I was going for a light punch," Lyra admitted as Geo and Hope looked at her with wide eyes, "...No, seriously. I did not expect that to happen."

"...Uh…" Geo began before Sonia let out a really loud gasp, getting everyone's attention as the redhead tossed and turned on the bed, "Sonia!"

Sonia grit her teeth as her entire body felt like it was on fire, like she was standing on the sun itself. Hope reached to wet the cloths only to realize they were out of water. She scooped some of the ice into one of the cloths and tied it before putting the makeshift ice bag on her forehead. Sonia panted as she felt the ice sorta relieve the heat, but...her body still felt like it was on fire..like it was changing in someway.

"..Uh...should that be doing that?" Omega-Xis asked, pointing to the 'heart' on Sonia's chest as it glowed a bit.

"She has a tattoo?" Geo asked, finally noticing it.

"It appeared while you were downstairs getting me some water," Hope explained.

"Uh...The ice evaporated," Omega-Xis noted, "She's not going to get as hot as a dwarf star, is she?"

"How is she still alive?" Hope whispered, "Her body must be well over the fatal 108 degrees."

"Sonia…" Lyra whispered in worry before she quickly noticed something, "...Is she...getting taller?"

"Taller?" the others repeated.

"I'm...not sure," Hope replied, "Go get me a measurer."

"Huh?"

"Remember the last time Sonia visited before that last crisis happened?" Hope reminded.

"Oh yeah. Before she started her TV career," Geo recalled, "You and her went out for a day and came back with a lot of bags."

"We went out shopping thanks to that raffle I won and I remember just how tall she was when we had to get measured for this one store that did custom outfits with customer secrecy," Hope explained, "Now hurry and get me a tape measurer. Omega-Xis, stay here and keep up the ice themed BattleCards."

"Right," Geo nodded as he handed Omega-Xis a folder filled with the ones they collected virus busting.

"Got it," Omega-Xis replied, taking out most of the ice themed BattleCards and ate them before he resumed blowing cool air on Sonia.

"Just hang in there, Sonia," Lyra encouraged.

"L...Lyra…" Sonai panted before grunting a bit, feeling her arms and legs strain a bit, as if they were stretching out.

"I'm right here," Lyra assured, "Don't worry...everything's gonna be okay…"

"...L...Lyra…" Sonia panted, managing to open one eye to look at her friend, "Y...you look...different."

"Yeah...I've noticed," Lyra gave a small forced giggle.

"H...hot….tight…"

"Hmm? Tight?" Lyra repeated.

"My clothes...starting to feel tight..."

"Oh," Lyra blinked twice.

"I am so glad she doesn't wear any metal materials on her clothes," Hope muttered as she managed to pull off all but Sonia's bra and panties.

"I've got the ta…" Geo began as he ran into before turning around and out, tossing the measurer to Lyra, "I did not see anything!"

"Woah!" Lyra yelped as she caught the measurer, "...Uh, here ya go, Hope."

"Thank you," Hope nodded.

"You sure it's a good idea right now? I mean, she's giving off a ton of heat," Omega-Xis warned as he floated back in, "Even with me blowing on her."

"Which is why I'll wait once the heat finally dies down," Hope responded.

"Ahh…" Omega-Xis noted, "Right."

"Ahh….ahh…" Sonia panted.

The glow faded from the heart-shaped tattoo on her before her body slumped. Omega-Xis stopped his breathing and Hope quickly checked Sonia's temperature.

"...Oh thank goodness," Hope sighed in relief, "Her fever broke." she proceeded to measure Sonia, "Oh my...She's as tall as me now!"

"Huh?" Lyra and Omega-Xis questioned.

"When we went out, I had a good two feet above her and last time we talked, she was just a foot and a half," Hope noted, "Now we're the same height."

"Wh...what?" Sonia asked as she managed to sit up, opening her eyes to look in a mirror, "?! What happend to my clothes?!"

"I don't think they'll fit right now," Lyra noted.

"I'll go get some spare clothes I have," Hope ran out, "Geo, don't go in there."

"Not a problem," Geo replied, keeping his back to the door while focusing on just the picture of the wall.

"Okay...I tried to get a hold of Dr. Goodall a-" Kelvin began as he walked back upstairs, blinking when he saw Geo's back against the door, "...Is everything okay in there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Just, uh...Just don't go in there," Geo replied.

"...o...kay…?" Kelvin raised a brow in confusion at that.

"EEK!" Sonia screamed before Omega-Xis screamed as he phased through the wall and then the next wall.

"...Guess Lyra remembered Omega-Xis was in there," Geo noted.

"You didn't peek, did you?" Hope asked as she ran by and into the room.

"Nope," Geo replied.

"No," Kelvin replied before Hope closed the door, "...Did, uh, why was your mother carrying some of her spare clothes?"

"I dunno!" Geo quickly replied, a blush on his face.

* * *

 _SZ: Hoo...this chapter is finished finally, but...wow._

 _GT: Eeyup. A lot happened for a good new beginning._

 _SZ: Yup._

 _GT: Well, this does seem like a good first chapter, though I do wonder if someone was able to make sure her info was saved before the VG Hunter melted._

 _SZ: I hope so too, and I hope this will do much better than the first draft of our story._

 _GT: Agreed. Who knows? *shrugs* But still, I hope that we get some great reviews on this story._

 _SZ: I hope so too. Anyways readers, we hope you enjoyed this chapter and such, and stay tuned for the next chapter of Rising Sun!_

 _GT: Until then, I am GammaTron…_

 _SZ: And I am Seanzilla115, and we bid you all a good day._

 _GT: We bid you adieu. *bows*_


	2. Painting 2

_SZ: *sees faves and reviews for Rising Sun*..._

 _GT: You got quite a few favorites, but I'm happy you got a review._

 _SZ: Yeah...plus it's from Bigby, so that's a plus. I mean, he always gives such good reviews._

 _GT: Agreed. I saw the review and, while it isn't as big as often, it's still a great first review for a story._

 _SZ: Indeed. Plus this story is still kinda starting out, so hopefully we'll see more reviews as it goes on._

 _GT: *nods*_

 _SZ: Yup, so let's get this show on the road...unless we need the disclaimer this time around, GT._

 _GT: Nah. We do not own Okami nor Mega Man Star Force. They are owned by Capcom...WHO NEEDS TO MAKE MORE MEGAMAN GAMES, DAMMIT!_

 _SZ: Agreed!...ahem. Sorry about that...beginning the story._

* * *

"Mmm...how did this happen?" Sonia muttered, trying to get the clothes Hope loaned to her on as she stood in the bathroom, "I'm as tall as Mrs. Stellar now."

"And I'm all white," Lyra noted, looking at her reflection in the mirror, "At least my radiation is still the same color along with my eyes."

"Well I'm glad you're taking this well," Sonia deadpanned as she got the shirt on.

"This is something that naturally happens to FM-Ians and AM-Ians when they reach a certain threshold," Lyra noted while she looked at her friend/partner, "Though...I know that changes happen with humans, I never expected it to be this fast a change. The last time you changed spent six years."

"I know, a-" Sonai began as she got the pants on, only for them to tear a bit, "..."

"What's wrong?" Lyra asked.

"...I think I'm a bit wider in the hips than Mrs. Stellar," Sonia noted, looking where the rips were as best she could in the bathroom mirror.

"...Should I get Mrs. Stellar for help?"

"Mmm…"

"You're right. It is a stupid question," Lyra sweatdropped as she phased through the wall.

"Come to think of it, I think my chest is a size bigger, too," Sonia admitted to herself, seeing the shirt was a bit higher on her than Hope.

* * *

"Where is she…?" Lyra whispered as she looked around the house for Hope, "Mrs. Stellar? Oh, Mrs. Stellar!"

"Lyra?"

"Oh, jeez!" Lyra yelped as she jumped a bit, turning around quickly to see Geo, "Don't do that, Geo!"

"Sorry."

"It's fine...but question. Do you know where your mom is at the moment?" Lyra asked.

"She went out with dad to pick up Dr. Goodall," Geo replied.

"Ahh….drat," Lyra cursed, "I needed her for something important."

"Huh? Something important?" Geo repeated, "Wait...di...did something happen to Sonia?"

"No. It's just...well...the pants ripped," Lyra replied before Omega-Xis materialized.

"I still don't get why you humans wear these 'clothes' even how long I've lived here," Omega-Xis snorted.

"Well it's because unlike most of our kind, humans need clothes to keep their bare bodies covered," Lyra explained with a small frown.

"So...It's armor?"

"Ugh…" Lyra sighed, "Yes, Omega-Xis, it's a special human-only armor that they also try to make for little animals likes dogs and cats."

"Wait, wait, wait. The pants ripped?" Geo asked.

"Yup. It seems her height isn't the only thing that changed," Lyra stated.

"Did she grow a tail like that one FM-Ian that got too cocky in a fight and got shived?" Omega-Xis recalled.

"Wait, what?" Geo looked at Omega-Xis.

"Humans can't grow tails, Omega-Xis," Lyra sighed.

"Well what about those humans in that...what was it called? Oh yeah...that old DBZ manga?"

"First off: Those are called Saiyans. Second off: It's just a manga; meaning none of the stuff in it is real."

"What?! You're kidding me!" Omega-Xis gawked before zipping off.

"Where are you going?" Lyra asked.

"To prove you wrong and stuff in manga is real!" Omega-Xis argued.

"Don't go into the lawnmower again!" Geo called before looking at Lyra, "Well...Maybe you can get one of my dad's shorts to try."

"...Good idea," Lyra admitted as she phased into the ceiling.

* * *

Back with Sonia, she was carefully examining herself in the mirror, checking to see what parts of her had changed. She knew she was as tall as Mrs. Stellar since she had been measured by her and her hair was still the same length as she remembered it. She noted her hips did get a bit bigger, enough that her, along with Hope's, pants being too small for her to get on. Grabbing the measuring tape, she began to check herself. After checking her waist, hips, and chest, she noted she was B65-H56-H85.

"Sonia," Lyra partly phased through the door.

"Oh! Lyra," Sonia turned to her, "Did you find her?"

"No," Lyra replied, "But Geo did suggest we try some pants from his father's closet," Lyra replied.

"Oh...good idea," Sonia nodded, "Can you…?"

"They're hanging off the doorknob on the other side," Lyra replied, "I grabbed a few just in case before I came back."

"You're the best, Lyra," Sonia beamed as she moved to the door before a clatter made her look to see she had bumped into her VG Hunter, displaying her BrotherBands with Geo's at the strongest, "...Hey, Lyra?"

"You're thinking about that Mu incident again, aren't you?" Lyra asked.

"..." Sonia nodded.

"Geo said he forgave you for that years ago," Lyra sighed.

"I know, but...but we were the other's first Brother and...and me doing that…"

"You were worried about him," Lyra spoke, "We've talked about this so many times, that it's like I now have a script for all your responses. You made a mistake, yes, one that was really painful to you both both figuratively and literally when it came down to blows. But he still forgave you, Sonia. Look, just get the shorts and I'll wait with Geo in the living room while we keep an eye on the lawnmower in case Omega-Xis tries to use it to prove that manga is real."

"But…"

"I know, but you know what Mr. ''Allergy to Women' is like," Lyra huffed before phasing through the floor.

"...Hai…" Sonia sighed before blinking, "...What did I just say?"

* * *

"She really did that to him?" Lyra giggled.

"Yeah," Geo gave a small chuckle, "He's never lived it down especially when mom took pictures of the end result of what she did."

"Heh heh...oh, that must've been hilarious to see," Lyra giggled.

"Heh...I suppose so, yeah," Geo nodded as he turned the TV on.

=In recent news, there have been sightings of a mysterious island appearing around the ocean, and near cities near the coastline= a Wizard themed after a news reporter stated as the upper right part of the screen showed a strange island covered in fog, a question mark on said picture =Nobody knows where this mysterious island came from, but it's said that it changes location every single day; meaning no one has able to land on said island, nor locate it=

"..." Lyra and Geo shared looks.

"You...You don't think it's another lost civilization like Mu, do you?"

"We both agree that if there are artifacts, we are making sure Omega-Xis do not eat them?"

"Right," Lyra agreed.

"I'm coming down!" Sonia called as she came down the stairs, wearing one of Hope's spare shirts and a pair of blue jean shorts held by a belt, "I'm so glad that I wore that longer belt before we met up with you, Geo."

"..."

"...Geo?" Sonia blinked.

"We, uh, we may be having an issue of sorts," Lyra noted, "The news just said there's an island disappearing and reappearing off the shore of Electopia in random areas."

"...Please tell me it's not another Mu," Sonia begged.

"Maybe Atlantis," Geo tried to joke before noticing Lyra's glare/frown, "...Right, sorry."

"...Think Solo's heard about this by now?" Sonia couldn't help but ask.

"Knowing him, I highly doubt it."

* * *

The wind ruffled the ends of a leather jacket as its owner looked out at the sea. Red eyes with tribal tattoos under them narrowed as, for a brief moment, their owner spotted a shoreline a bit away from the cliffline they were on.

 **=...=**

"...It is not Murian," the figure noted, their spiky white hair not bothered by the wind, "It's...older…"

 **=...=**

"I know that should be impossible. Not even Atlantis was born until near the time of the end," the figure looked at a stone VG Hunter on their wrist, "And yet…"

 **=...=**

"I know, Laplace," Solo nodded as he looked out to shore...and the other shore gone, "We need to get onto that island."

* * *

"Hmm…" Dr. Goodall adjusted her glasses as she looked at a digital screen displayed before her while Sonia was lying flat on the couch, a Wizard with scanners for lower arms moving back and forth slowly along her body, its scanner arms a few inches over her until they turned off and the Wizard moved back, "Well, Sonia, you're quite healthy. In fact, the results from this scan are much better than your last scan a few weeks ago."

"Scan?" Hope whispered to Kelvin.

"It's to make sure there aren't really any issues with people who Wave Change with alien life forms or Wizards in Ace's case," Kelvin explained.

"Why, I'd say you'd live well past a hundred," Dr. Goodall adjusted her glasses while Sonia sat up, "Now then, Lyra, let's start with you."

"Okay," Lyra nodded as she floated down and the Wizard went to work on scanning her.

"Hmm...Yes, yes, it seems everything is... _hello_ ," Dr. Goodall moved her glasses a bit as the Wizard halted its scan, "What have we here? Kelvy, concur with me on this."

Kelvin, ignoring Hope's giggle at his nickname from her, walked over and looked at the screen. Dr. Goodall pointed at something and Kelvin looked at it. He blinked twice before looking at Goodall and back at the thing she was pointing at.

"Lyra, it seems some sort of energy has latched onto your own power, melding itself with it," Kelvin noted, "It's not feeding off of it, but is actually trying to merge with it."

"Merge?" Lyra and Sonia repeated.

"...That light…" Sonia whispered, her eyes widening in realization, "Lyra...you don't think…?"

"That whatever that thing the sphere had latched itself onto us and resulted in…" Lyra paused as she motioned to herself then Sonia, "This? Then yes."

"Thing?" Goodall repeated.

"This weird black and red sphere with this weird markings all over it and had this weird frequency," Omega-Xis snorted.

"It had this box and when we broke it, it let out this bright white light with bits of red light mixed into it," Lyra explained, "Some of the white and red light went into Sonia and I as Lyra Note."

"Hai," Sonia nodded before covering her mouth, "?!"

"Um...Yes, hi?" Hope blinked.

"My, my, my," Dr. Goodall chuckled, "Trying to make a new language are we?"

"I-iie," Sonia stammered before covering her mouth again, an annoyed noise escaping her lips.

"...Wait. I think I heard of that language before in some old videos I found," Omega-Xis spoke up before going into Geo's VG Hunter =Now let's see...I know I stored them in here somewhere…Ah ha! Found one!= a static came out of the VG Hunter before music played.

 _ **buttoibiito oodaiko hibikasete oopun/maiodore ukiyobitonosekaiyochakichaki hanabayashi yayakoshibanashi nifutawoshite/Yeah asamade!**_

"...What did I just hear?" Kelvin pondered.

"It kinda sounds like something a party would play," Sonia noted.

"Oh? What did it sound like to you?" Goodall asked.

"'Make a pounding beat on the big drum open.' 'Dance in this fleeting world.' 'Pure floral accompaniment, put a lid on a complex story.' 'Yeah! Until morning,'" Sonia replied.

"I didn't hear that," Geo admitted.

"Neither did I. I only made out the 'yeah' at the end since it was the only thing that could pass as English," Hope agreed.

"Hmmm...It could be that while Lyra was given power, you might have information, Sonia," Dr. Goodall noted.

"Nani?" Sonia blinked, her eye twitching at another slip of tongue.

"If I'm right about this…" Goodall paced slowly, "Sonia, you now know a Dead Language."

"What's a Dead Language?" Omega-Xis asked once he reappeared.

"A Dead Language is exactly what it says; a language that became unused to the point that no one even knows how to speak or read it," Kelvin noted.

"So if we learn it and use it as code, we get the drop on anyone we want!" Omega-Xis grinned excitedly.

Goodall giggled, "Ah, Meggers is quite the silly one, isn't he?"

"Grr…" Omega-Xis' eye twitched at the nickname.

"So I can speak and understand a language no one else does?" Sonia blinked twice, "...This is when I first talked to Geo all over again, except this time it's not in business or singer to someone who's never heard of the singer."

"Yeah...but now I'm curious about something," Lyra spoke up, catching everyone's attention, "...What was that sphere, and where was it going with that container containing that light?"

"...Huh. The out of tune harp has a point," Omega-Xis admitted, "What the heck was that thing anyway?" he looked at his claws, the tips still a bit burnt, "That black denpa coming off it burnt my claws."

"I'm unsure," Goodall replied, "But if you could give an apt description or Meggers or Lyrical allow us to access their memory waves so we can get an image on it, WAXA could put an APB on it."

"...It does sound like a good idea," Lyra admitted.

"What's there to describe? It's a black sphere with red lines, and black flame-like denpa," Omega-Xis stated bluntly.

"What did the red lines resemble? A chaotic mish-mash? Symbols?" Goodwin asked.

"Uh…"

Lyra sighed, facepalming before floating over, "I don't mind you using my memory wavelength, but focus on just the image of that thing."

"Fair enough," Goodall nodded, "Just lay down again and it will take a few minutes to get the right thing."

Lyra nodded as she did so, taking a deep breath as she relaxed.

* * *

Vulpecula stopped over an empty patch of water, storm clouds rumbling overhead. Despite the advancements over the past several years, people still couldn't really see the wave road without special lenses. Yet, to one born in the world of waves, Vulpecula could make out a crumbling piece of the wave road going beneath the waters. She shot down the old wave road and beneath the waves, following it deep beneath as a light rainfall came upon the waters below.

Further and further she went beneath the salty waters, going deeper and deeper. As she continued, the rainfall above grew stronger as a wind began to pick up. She then noticed something beginning to rise up, resembling a demon's face in shape. She closed her eyes and pressed onwards, shuddering as she went through it, unaware of a miasma-like substance began to soak into her armor, turning it darker in color with each second passing. The storm above only grew worse as she made it to the seafloor of the ocean...and now floated before the decaying remains of what had once been a small island, the houses all over preserved in their damages conditions as if fossilized by the sea itself.

She ignored the houses as she floated down a path, her armor now pitch black with white markings. Faint words could barely be made out on the few damaged signs, yet she could still make out the words. As she exited the village and into a cavern, she was unaware of her body changing, growing larger and longer while the miasma-like substance continued entering her. As she surfaced in an underwater cavern filled with air, she continued her pace on a pair of slender, shapely legs resembling the hind legs of a fox made of her much darker armor. Her denpa-made tail swayed behind her firm shapely buttocks, a sway every so often splitting the tail and making a new one. By the time she reached a shrine, damaged to the point that it seemed to have been a casualty of a fierce battle, nine denpa made tails swayed, the tips pitch black like ink.

"I feel it…" Vulpecula whispered before giggling.

The giggle soon became a small chuckle. The chuckle soon turned into laughter as she wrapped her slender, armor-made arms around her slim, toned waist made of armor plating. The storm above, now a stagnant typhoon, continued to increase in power as the waters below were now a chaotic mess while Vulpecula's laughter soon lost any form of sanity. The waves crashed and rumbled as something beneath seems to begin to rise. Had anyone been witness to it, they would have witnessed chains made of a pitch black and red ink seemed to erupt from the waters, swirling malevolently as they obscured what was emerging.

The storm was gone hours later, the sea where it had been seemingly untouched. Vulpecula emerged from the cavern, gazing out upon the wooden houses unused yet looking brand new. Looking upwards and upon the pitch black sky with a black sun, she gave a small laugh as the miasma-like substance leaked out of her feet and moved down to the village. Roars erupted in conjunction to her laughter, giving a chaotic harmony.

* * *

"?!" Solo tensed, suddenly turning around and looking out into the sky, "...Laplace, you felt that right?"

 **=...=**

Solo nodded, "...Something's changed. I don't know what it is, but...it feels...impure."

 **=...=**

"...I'm not going to go to _them_ for help," Solo frowned, "We can handle this ourselves, Laplace."

 **=...=**

* * *

"Hmm...interesting…" Goodall noted, looking at the data she got from Lyra's memories as her assistant Wizard went into her VG Hunter, "I'll take these images back to the lab and see if I can get a better picture of what the red lines make up on it and given an APB on it."

"Right," Lyra nodded as she floated back up.

"Oh, and here, Sonia," Goodall gave Sonia another VG Hunter, "To replace the one that melted."

"Argatou! I mean 'Thank you,'" Sonia thanked.

"So now what?" Lyra asked once Goodall left.

"Well...given my body and all…" Sonia spoke up, looking down at her taller, slightly more developed figure, "I could use some new clothes."

"...Shopping~!" Hope nearly sang as Kelvin and Geo scrambled for the stairs, "Kelvin, Geo! We're going out on a shopping trip!"

' _Dammit!'_ both males thought in fear.

"Heh heh...sucks to be you two," Omega-Xis smirked.

"Wizard On," Geo deadpanned and Omega-Xis glowed.

"Good thinking, Geo!" Hope smiled, "We might need another pair of arms!"

"...You are on _The_ _LIST_!" Omega-Xis hissed.

"Well, considering we're shopping because of me…" Sonia held up a gold card with the words 'Chrys Gold' on it, "I swiped this before I fired him and the guy never canceled it."

"...Marry my son."

"What?"

"Shopping time~!" Hope pulled Sonia out, "Come on, boys! We need some good hands to help carry the bags!"

"...Crap," Geo, Kelvin, and Omega-Xis slumped.

* * *

 **=At least it's sunny so those won't stand out=** Lyra noted as Sonia was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baggy hat.

"Even if I did get taller, my face hasn't really changed," Sonia noted, "So people would still recognize me as, well, me."

"At least security in the mall is decent," Kelvin noted, glancing at a pair of security officers frog-hopping a paparazzi towards the mall's exit.

"No kidding. Can you imagine the field day those vultures would have if they say Sonia like this?" Omega-Xis said, earning a glare from Geo, "...What? It's true."

"Yes, but we're not with Sonia. We're with my cousin 'Misora,'" Hope replied, earning looks from them, "Well, we're both the same height and with the hat and sunglasses, you can't really spot many differences. So saying we're cousins is a good idea."

"That's...actually brilliant," Kelvin blinked twice.

"Of course it is," Hope giggled, "Now come on. We have some shopping to do~!"

"Whoopee…" Omega-Xis deadpanned as the men followed the two girls. He was about to say something before he noticed something poking out from behind the pillar before pulling itself back in, "...What the?"

"Omega-Xis! You coming?!" Geo called out to his partner.

"...Yeah….I'm coming…" Omega-xis replied, suspiciously eyeing the pillar as he followed after Geo.

* * *

"Um...why are we sitting down in here?"

"Geo, we are dealing with one thing: women trying on clothes and demanding opinions," Kelvin informed, "You'll need to look at subtle clues in their expressions, body movement, and tone of voice in order to give the right answer. Get it wrong and they'll let you know in a subtle way that, at first, you don't get it, but when you do...it is not good."

"..." Geo just gulped at that.

"And why am _I_ here?" Omega-Xis asked, floating next to Geo.

"You're a fighter. Even if you aren't fully aware of it, you _do_ read things better than the both of us. So consider this a battle of sorts and focus on what I just warned Geo about," Kelvin informed, "Tap Geo's shoulder one for 'yes' and twice for 'no' when they ask yes or no questions."

"Ahh...gotcha," Omega-Xis nodded.

"Okay, We're ready~!" Hope's voice called in a sing-songy tone.

The two doors opened and both walked out. Hope was wearing a red blouse with a pair of black jeans that cut off a few inches above her ankles. Sonia was dressed in a strawberry-red blouse with a pair of gold rings on her wrists and a pair of lime-green shorts.

"What do you think, Kelvin?" Hope asked.

"It looks great on you, dear," Kelvin replied.

"What do you think, Geo?" Sonia asked, not seeing Omega-Xis give a tiny tap.

"It's great, Sonia," Geo replied, earning a smile from her.

"...Great work," Kelvin noted once the girls were back in the booths, "Now a key note; _never_ say the word 'nice' around a girl asking about clothes they're trying. That is one of the worst things to say."

"Huh? But...why?" Geo asked.

"I have no idea, but I said it once one of the first times your mother and I did this and she, well, gave me a cold shoulder for a little bit, often giving only a few words as an answer to questions," Kelvin admitted.

"Ahh…"

"Tch...women…" Omega-Xis muttered, resting his head on his open palm as he 'laid' on his side. He gave a yawn before he noticed something poking out of the pillar outside the store, the EM-Being quickly turning to get a good look at what it was...only for it to disappear behind the pillar once more.

"Omega-Xis, pay attention," Kelvin whispered.

Hope came out first, wearing a slender violet dress with a leaf-green stitching resembling a tree going up the side, a red stitching resembling an apple on a branch on the left breast. Sonia stepped out, wearing a baby-blue blouse with a teal skirt that went down halfway towards her knees.

"How do we look?" Hope asked.

"..." Geo said nothing, blushing slightly as he focused on Sonia.

Omega-Xis 'gently' 'tapped' him.

"Ah! Uh...Y-You look great, Sonia," Geo noted.

Kelvin gave a slow whistle, "I haven't seen you in something that stunning since the day we went to Ratatouille de Amore."

"I couldn't help it," Hope giggled, "It just screamed 'try.'"

"You look beautiful, Mrs. Stellar," Sonia noted.

"Why thank you, Sonia," Hope giggled, "Now come on. Let's get changed and pay for this."

"Hai. I mean, yes," Sonia nodded.

* * *

"Um, dad? What are you doing?" Geo asked as the girls were trying on shoes in the store they were outside of.

"Just making a translation list for those slip ups," Kelvin replied, typing on a holographic keyboard, "So far, I've got 'Hai' means 'yes' and 'Iie' means 'no.'"

"Ahh…" Geo nodded.

Omega-Xis didn't pay attention as he kept a close eye out for that mystery figure, eying each of the pillars to see if it'll slip up or not.

"Okay, boys, we're done in there," Hope walked over with Sonia, handing Kelvin a bag with five shoe boxes while Sonia handed Geo one with just three, "Let's keep going!"

 **=This is rather interesting=** Lyra noted **=Where to next?=**

"Amelia's Secret," Hope replied, Kelvin freezing up and quickly putting a hand on Geo's shoulder.

"Uh...One moment, you two," Kelvin chuckled nervously before pulling Geo, bags and all, behind a pillar, "Geo, this is bad. So very, very bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Amelia's Secret...is an underwear shop," Kelvin stated.

"Wh-w-wh-what?" Geo blushed.

"To go in there will be the epitome of labels," Kelvin informed before inhaling, "...We need to sacrifice Omega-Xis."

"?!" Geo's eyes widened.

"Not as in sacrifice-sacrifice; I mean him going in there with the girls," Kelvin informed, "It'll be only him who gets the label and not us. You were fine being able to go in there when you were younger up to the age of ten, but now? Go in there and you'll be labeled as something no honest man wants to be labeled."

Geo gulped and nodded quickly. He wasn't sure what he meant by labels, but he could tell that whatever had his dad unnerved-a man who even dealt with a giant meteor made of noise for who knows how long-it was not a good thing.

* * *

"...What?" Omega-Xis questioned as he floated outside of two stalls, looking at the women staring at him, "...What?! You've never seen a badass like me before?!" the women looked away and moved off, earning a snort from Omega-Xis, _'The women in here are weird. Must be all the pinks and blacks of the walls here.'_

"Okay. We're ready," Hope's voice called out before the two came out of their stalls, Sonia's face a bright red, "So did they fit, Sonia?"

"..." Sonia just nodded, trying not to look at the bras in her hands.

"I knew you were a cup bigger than me," Hope giggled.

"She drinks more soda or water or whatever than you?" Omega-Xis asked.

 **=No, you idiot. She...ugh. Why do I even bother explaining this stuff to you?=** Lyra groaned, **=Honestly, it's like talking to a brick wall=**

"Hey screw you, ya out of tune harp!" Omega-Xis barked.

 **=Why you…!=** Lyra growled **=If I wasn't trying to keep Sonia's identity still hidden, I'd…=**

She swung a fist in the VG Hunter like a slashing motion. Sparks shot off Omega-Xis as he was knocked back a few feet, partly phasing through a wall. Growling a bit, he looked down to see a faint slash in his torso armor.

"What was that?" Hope asked.

"I….don't know…" Sonia slowly replied as she looked down at her VG Hunter, "Lyra...what...did you do?"

 **=Hmm? What do you mean?=**

"I mean whatever you did sent Omega-Xis flying a few feet," Sonia stated, "As if something punched or slashed him."

 **=I didn't do anything=** Lyra replied with a pout **=Honestly, I am not an out-of-tune harp...=**

' _...The hell was that?'_ Omega-Xis pondered as he looked at the slowly-healing slice in his armor, _'For a moment...I could've sworn I sensed something...that_ wasn't _denpa when that attack happened.'_

* * *

"Why do girls go crazy over going to a mall?" Geo pondered as he and Kelvin sat on a bench near the store, the bags around them.

"It's a mystery to every man in the world," Kelvin shrugged, "And when I try to ask your mother, she often asks why I go crazy over a new exhibit at the museum or when there's a new piece of tech for sale."

"I see…" Geo noted.

"Though you're gonna have to get used to this, Geo," Kelvin chuckled, "Especially when you get married." he laughed as Geo sputtered with a blush.

"Geez, dad…" Geo muttered, trying to shake off the blush.

"Aw come on, kiddo," Kelvin chuckled, messing with Geo's hair good naturedly, "All parents have a right to embarrass their kids."

"...I suppose you're right," Geo said as he got up, "I'm gonna go look around for a bit, dad. Call me on the VG Hunter when the girls are done in the store."

"Can do," Kelvin chuckled.

Geo nodded as he began to walk off, the brunette thinking a bit as he did so. He recalled back to the encounter with that sphere, and the news about that mysterious island appearing in random spots. Could those two be somehow connected? More importantly...would Sonia be able to change back to her normal self, or was this change permanent?

"...Haa….I need to try and get my mind o-" Geo began before he ended up bumping into someone, "Oof! Sorry, I…"

"Geo?"

"...Prez?" Geo blinked, looking up at a familiar blond-haired girl, her hair still in its two drill-like ponytails while she was wearing a white blouse, a red tie, a blue vest, and blue slacks with formal blue shoes, "What're you doing here?"

"I'm out shopping for some stuff, obviously," Luna replied, "What're you doing here?"

"My mom's on a shopping spree," Geo replied, "So my dad and I are here to carry the bags."

"Ahh...I see," Luna noted.

"Yeah...Where are Zack and Bud?"

"Zack's over at the electronics store while Bud…" Luna paused as she pondered a bit, "Not sure really. I haven't seen him around in a while."

"I see…" Geo nodded, _'I guess he's trying to learn how to work with Taurus better.'_

"So, I heard an interesting little rumor," Luna noted, eyeing Geo.

"You mean about that island appearing and disappearing lately?" Geo asked.

"Well, yes, there's that, but also about a certain popstar we both know," Luna noted, "Did you hear that her show isn't getting another season?"

"Yeah. The producer thinks that they've managed to get everything they could out of the concept," Geo noted, _'Though, with Sonia's change in height...I don't think they'd be able to make another season without a lot of editing on Sonia's height.'_

"Hmm...I suppose that makes sense," Luna shrugged a bit, still eying Geo, "You know...since we're both here…" she leaned in a bit close to him, "You want to hang out a bit?"

"Well…" Geo began before he got a message on his VG Hunter, "...Sorry. My dad just messaged me, saying mom is done in the store and ready to head onto the next."

"Oh...I see," Luna noted, pouting a bit, "...Very well. Guess I'll see you around then."

"Yeah. See you around, Prez," Geo nodded before heading off.

"...Shoot," Luna muttered as she walked the opposite direction, "I thought I could get some time alone with him this time...I guess I'll…" she paused when she felt something run past her, "?" she looked behind her, seeing nothing, "...I could have sworn…" she shook her head.

With that, she resumed walking off, unaware of the shaded imp/monkey-shaped figure hiding behind the pillar, a menacing aura surrounding it.

* * *

"Everything go well in there, Mega?" Kelvin asked.

"Yeah. Don't get why those girls were all looking at me, though," Omega-Xis grumbled as Hope and Sonia walked out, carrying small paper bags, "Seriously, it's like I did something wrong, and I didn't even do anything at all!"

 **=Yet=** Lyra quipped, causing Omega-is to growl a bit in annoyance.

"Now where'd Geo go off to?" Hope pondered.

"Right here," Geo replied as he walked over, "Sorry about that. Went to go look around a bit before running into Luna."

"...Soka…" Sonia noted, gritting her teeth a bit inside her mouth as she clenched the paper bags a bit tighter in her arms, before she spotted something, "Hm?"

"What's up?" Kelvin asked as Sonia pointed at a store nearby.

"I'm kind of curious about that shop," Sonia noted.

"Hmm?" Hope blinked as she, Geo, and Kelvin looked at the store Sonia pointed at.

The store seemed rather old despite the building being new. The framing of the storefront was made of wood with various paintings, carvings, even glass creations were on display. At the top of it was the store's name; 'Ponkotan.'

"I've never seen that store before," Hope noted as Sonia walked over to it and looked at one of the stone carvings in the shape of a wolf with flames coming off its shoulders, the stone painted in a white as pure as freshly-fallen snow with the flames in a myriad of colors.

"I see you are curious about that one," a voice chuckled, making Sonia look at the counter to see an elderly man wearing white robes with red swirls on it.

"It's amazing, sir," Sonia noted, "It...it looks like it could come to life at any time."

"I'm glad my craft hasn't lost its touch," the elder chuckled, "The state is based upon a story from my homeland. Would you care to listen to an old man's tale?"

"Y...yes please," Sonia nodded.

The elder chuckled, "Well, it happened a long, long time ago...A tiny hamlet known as Kamiki lay nestled in a grove of proud and beautiful cherry blossoms," he motioned to a hanging scroll nearby, an ink painting depicting a village amongst tall trees with pink-colored ink taking shape of falling cherry blossoms, "Each and every tree around the quiet burg was honored as a god."

"A...A god?"

The elder nodded, glancing to see the other three listening in as well, "In my homeland, we considered many things to have a spirit and even multiple gods of different statures, many having a shrine to each respective god." he looked at the ink painting as one of the candles nearby went out, casting a dark shadow over it, "However, the village was not without its dark secrets. For years, a cave-dwelling beast threatened the village. It's name…" reaching under the counter, the elder pulled out a glass sculpture depicting a fearsome beast resembling a snake with eight heads and eight tails, "...was Yamata-no-Orochi." a shiver went down Sonia's spine, as if the name was related to true fear for some reason, "During each and every annual festival for seven years, a young maiden was offered as a sacrifice to Orochi."

"Why would they do that?" Hope pondered.

"Orochi was no mere beast. With a body like a mountain and eight heads mounted on neck the size of tree trunks, its blood-red eyes were said to curse anyone who gazed into them," the elder explained, everyone noticing that each of the glass Orochi's heads had ruby red eyes in them, "No one dared disobey the horrific beast. When the night of the eighth sacrifice drew near…" he motioned to the statue of the wolf, "A mysterious white wolf appeared outside the village. This wolf, its coat as brilliant as freshly fallen snow, was dubbed as Shiranui. The wolf kept watch of anyone who ventured outside the village, and made a habit of patrolling the streets at night. People assumed the wolf to be a familiar of Orochi."

"What's a familiar?" Sonia pondered.

"They are spirits or animals that are summoned and bonded with, performing tasks at their caller's command or give them assistance in menial things," the elder explained, "One villager took it upon himself to face the fearsome Shirani." he motioned to another hanging scroll, depicting a young man with a broadsword on his back, a pair of handles on it, "His name was Izanagi, or 'Nagi' to those close to him, and he attempted many times to challenge the wolf, but each attempt was thwarted by Shiranui's swift movements. Before long, the night of the accursed festival began." a miniature white-plumed arrow was pulled out by the elder, embedded into a miniature wooden hut where a sculpture of a beautiful maiden was emerging, "A white-plumed arrow herald the coming sacrifice. Piercing the sky, the arrow sunk its shaft squarely into the home of Izanami, the village's most beautiful maiden. Izanagi, who harbored a secret love for Izanami, became enraged by this sign. Determined to put an end to Orochi once and for all, Izanagi traveled to the beast's cave in place of his beloved with eight large barrels of sake." the elder picked up a statue from a shelf behind him and presented it, revealing it to be Izanagi wearing the robes of Izanami, "He was known for the saying 'A smart falcon hides its claws from view.' Disguised as her, he was able to get Orochi drunk from the sake, a wine made from rice," he turned the statue around, revealing the other side of it to be Izanagi wearing a fearsome white and gold armor, before he motioned to another hanging scroll, depicting a darkened cavern shrine of sorts, "The Moon Cave, a place as dark as evil itself, served as Orochi's home and where they did battle. Izanagi leapt with incredible grace, swinging his blade valiantly. On and on he sliced, well into the moonless night."

For a brief moment, the flames of all the candles there made a small burst of flames, exposing briefly a hanging scroll depicting Izanagi doing battle with Orochi in different stages. Yet throughout each one, there was nary a scratch on Orochi.

"Yet Orochi's hide was as tough as steel, Izanagi leaving nary a scratch upon the monster," the elder went on, earning their attention to see a glass Orochi looking down upon a statue of Izanagi on one knee with his sword stabbed into the ground, "At long last, Izanagi, his energy spent from the intense battle, dropped to his knees, fatigued and gasping for breath. He knew he was staring death in the face. It was then that the wolf appeared." the elder put another statue of Shiranui on the table, this one depicting him glaring upwards, snarling and ready to attack, "As if to protect Izanagi, it stood its ground before Orochi." the candles blew out around the counter, yet the statue of Shiranui in its fighting stance was still as visible as if it were in pure daylight, "In the darkness of the cave, the wolf's coat shone brilliantly. Alas, it was Shiranui, the wolf that dwelled outside the village. Baring its fearsome claws, Shiranui leapt towards Orochi. Orochi reared its terrifying heads, readying its fang for battle. The two beasts struggled wildly, thrashing in the darkness."

Hope gasped as some of the flames burst once more, the hanging scroll above now depicting Orochi and Shiranui doing battle. Many depicted Shiranui performing things of unbelievable power, vines ensnaring Orochi as the eight-headed serpent released black flames upon the wolf, lightning storming from the sky, flames of nearby lights and water of puddles about attempting to strike down the monster.

"Mysterious and terrifying, the spectacle continued. Shiranui summoned gusts of divine wind to counter Orochi's flames. As Orochi closed in on Shiranui, sharpened claws glistening, a tree would emerge from the ground, shielding Shiranui from harm. Shiranui fought gallantly to gain the upper hand. However...Orochi, protected by a mystical power, was not easily bested." the elder relit the candles, revealing the statue of Shiranui replaced with one sporting various injuries, crimson paint depicting the blood, "Shiranui, covered in gashes, majestic coat dyed crimson, stood exhausted before the mighty Orochi. But before Orochi could deliver the final blow...Shiranui raised its head to the sky and let out a howl. The mighty howl made from the last of its strength parted the dark clouds above, revealing the moon to all." a wind blew and they looked up to see a glowing moon-shaped paper lantern had become alit, "The light from above glinted off Izanagi's sword as a beacon of hope. Guided by his sword, Izanagi, who had been taking shelter in the shadows, stood proudly to face his adversary. Channeling all his strength into his scarred and battered arms, Izanagi leapt ferociously towards Orochi, sword held high. The golden sword danced in his hands like a puppet on string, easily slicing through seven of the eight heads and many of its tails, one of which released a second sword at the exact time his golden sword finally snapped from an attack by Orochi's last head. Orochi went for a fatal blow, but Izanagi was quick and grabbed the new blade, Kusanagi, and used it to slice the final head off." everyone looked at the elder's counter to see a glass statue of Orochi, depicting its headless body in a puddle of red glass, "Orochi's broken body collapsed in a lake of its own blood. In that instant, the curse that plagued the villagers was lifted. As the battle subsided, the sun shone once again in the sky. Unfortunately…"

Sonia stared as the elder motioned to a hanging scroll. On it depicted Izanagi kneeling down before a dying Shiranui.

"...Shiranui had succumbed to the powerful venom of Orochi and struggled to breathe," the elder sadly went on, "Scooping the brave wolf into his arms, Izanagi returned to Kamiki. When they reached the village, Shiranui was no longer moving. The village elder gently stroked the wolf's head, Shiranui letting out a hoarse and pitiful bark in response...then closed its eyes and drifted off as if into slumber." Hope and Sonia wiped their eyes of tears, "Peace had at last returned to Kamiki Village. In honor of Shiranui's heroic exploits, the villagers…" he pulled out a carving of a small shrine depicted towards Shiranui, "...erected a shrine and placed a statue of the wolf within it. Izanagi's broken sword was christened Tsukuyomi and placed inside the Mood Cave once it had been repaired, stabbed into the ground in the center of it to seal away Orochi's spirit. The villagers all looked forward to an age of endless peace…" he smiled at his listeners, "And that is the end of the tale of why my homeland makes these statues of Shiranui, as a way to know Shiranui is still out there, watching over us in spirit."

" _Thank you for telling us this,"_ Sonia slipped into her new tongue before covering her mouth and clearing her throat, "I-I mean, thank you for telling us the story, sir."

"It isn't a problem," the elder chuckled before pulling out a pair of ornate boxes and slid them to Geo and Sonia, "Take these for free as my thanks for listening to an old man's tale."

"Wh-What? But we couldn't…" Geo began.

"I insist you do," the elder assured, "These will do no good being stuck in this old place."

"...demo, a...are you really sure?" Sonia asked, slipping a bit into her new tongue once more.

"I'm quite sure, my dear," the elder replied, "I feel that you will need them more than an old man like myself."

"..Eh?" Sonia blinked at that as the elder walked back into the store. She then looked down at the ornate box in her hand, _'What did he mean by that?'_

"May the Fudegami and kami above guide you both in life, Hoshikawa Subaru, Hibiki Misora," the elder chuckled, "And arigatou for listing to this Jii-chan's tale of his youth."

"What?" the four looked up to see just a plain wall where the store had been.

"What the...where did…?" Hope whispered as she looked around.

"I could've sworn…" Kelvin muttered.

' _Why did he call us 'Hoshikawa Subaru' and 'Hibiki Misora?''_ Geo pondered before Omega-Xis appeared, looking out at a pillar with a growl, "Omega-Xis?"

"We're being watched…" Omega-Xis growled, readying his claws, "And it's not human."

The four humans turned to the pillar before Omega-Xis rocketed at the pillar, with a roar. A black blur shot out of behind the pillar, avoiding the attempted slash by Omega-Xis's claws. The blur bounced around a bit before landing behind the group, giving a raspy growl as it stood up. The blur turned out to be a strange creature resembling a monkey-like creature, whose flabby skin and muscle was a crimson color. The creature had bare hands and feet, tipped with vicious-looking claws. On its body was a red vest with noticeable shoulder-pads; on the creature's wrists, the skin there actually sagged and extended to become the fluttering "sleeves" of the creature, at first mistaken as the long sleeves of a robe underneath the vest. On its head, the creature had single horn; on its face was a paper mask a unique pattern resembling a box.

"ロ(ro)?" Sonia read the paper.

"Row?" Omega-Xis repeated, "It looks like a box to me."

"No. It...It's a word," Sonia replied, "See the bottom of the image? How the bottom sides extend a bit down more? It's the word 'ro.'"

"Seriously? You're giving me a lesson r-" Omega-Xis began before tensing, immediately getting in front of the group as he blocked a slash from the creature, which was now wielding a large red and green shamisen, the ends of the larger portion of it sharpened into a blade, "Gh?!"

The creature screeched out as it jumped back and grabbed the pillar, holding its weapon as it glared at the group, mainly Sonia. Spinning around its shamisen, it began to play with one of its feet and a wave of dark energy pulsed off it.

"...What's it…?" Geo began before more blurs shot out from nearby pillars and landed near the one the red creature was on, the blurs turning out to be a green variant of the creature, wearing a tattered green outfit with fluttering sleeves and an extendable wooden flute with a paper over its face with a symbol resembling a T with the top curving upwards like a curve.

"イ(i)?" Sonia read.

"No. That's a 'T,' not an 'E,'" Omega-Xis corrected before one of the green creatures pulled out a paddle...and a human skull, "GH?!"

The creature tossed the skull into the air and slapped it with the paddle, sending it at them. Kelvin tackled Hope out of the way and the skull hit the blank wall behind them. The skull glinted momentarily before exploding.

"...The hell kind of Wave Viruses are these?!" Omega-Xis exclaimed before he shook it off, "Doesn't matter. It just means I got new punching bags to beat up. Geo!"

"Right! Transcode 003! Mega Man! On! The! Air!" Geo declared before Megaman took his place.

 **=Sonia, we should help too=** Lyra spoke up.

"Right! Transcode 004! Lyra Note! On! The! Air!" Sonia declared.

In a swirl of denpa, Lyra Note took her place, though the blues on her body had turned the same color of white as Lyra had become. She twirled Lyra around before readying herself for a fight as Kelvin and Hope ran off to find shelter from the fight. The red creature screeched before it began to play some fighting music on its two-stringed instrument. The green creatures screeched as they charged at Megaman and Lyra Note, wooden flutes and paddles at the ready. One sent another exploding skull at the two, but Megaman quickly shot them in the air, letting them blow up in the air. When the dust cloud settled, one of the green creatures inhaled before blowing hard into the wooden flute, causing it to shoot forward at Megaman.

"Whoa!" Megaman yelped as he rolled out of teh way, causing the bamboo flute to embed itself in the wall before retracting back to the green creature, a fairly deep hole now in the wall, "..."

"Okay, we are not underestimating these things," Lyra noted.

" **Shock Note**!" Lyra Note called, creating two white speakers that fired out notes that slammed into two of the creatures, causing them to tumble back.

The two creatures quickly shook it off as they shot back up, the other two tossing multiple skulls at them before they were batted away by their paddles at Megaman and Lyra Note.

"Predation! Mad Vulcan 3!" Megaman called as his arm turned into a three-barreled gun.

"Predation! Mad Vulcan 2!" Lyra Note called.

The two proceeded to open fire on the incoming skulls, a faster barrage coming out of Megaman's guns. The skulls exploded into dust from each shot fired, but among the skulls that were shot, a red skull was seen. Once that one was shot, it created a fairly large explosion, engulfing the entire area in smoke as bits of the upper level walkways were destroyed by the explosion. Their left arms reverted to normal and the two readied themselves for whatever came.

"Okay...these things are smarter than we thought," Lyra Note noted.

"Yeah..b-" Megaman began before he spotted something large heading towards Lyra Note, "Look out!"

"Eh?" Lyra Note blinked before Megaman pushed her out of the way, and just in time as the red creature's instrument slammed into him, "GEO!"

"Gah!" Megaman grunted as the red creature slammed its instrument in his face, sending him crashing into the ruined wall.

"Ugh...What kind of guitar is that thing?" Omega-Xis groaned as he appeared beside Megaman, shaking his head to clear it.

"Shamisen," Lyra corrected before a small clatter made Lyra Note look down to see the box she had been given had been dropped in the sudden movement of Megaman pushing her away from the attack, the top opened to reveal a bamboo paintbrush with the brush of it made of a pure white material, the tip of it in ink, "A brush?"

Lyra Note picked it up, "Why would a…" a frenzied roar made her turn to see the green creatures all jumping at her, "AH!"

She blinked before her eyes widened. The area had turned sepia in color...almost as if everything was made from a single sheet of paper. Before her, the creatures that had been jumping at her had become frozen in the air.

"N...Nanikore?" Lyra Note pondered.

"Sonia, the brush!" Lyra gasped.

Lyra note looked at her hand to see the brush was glowing. She looked at the creatures before looking back at the brush.

"D...Did this cause them to stop?" Lyra Note pondered before moving out of the way and put the brush away.

The color returned and the green creatures all missed Lyra Note by a long shot and ended up colliding with the red creature in a pile up.

" **!$!#!"** one of the green creatures snapped at another, only for that one to smack it upside the head...which resulted in it smacking the other back...and it pretty much evolved into a slapfest for all the green creatures.

" **Grr… ! % &# !" **the red creature snapped as it threw the greens ones off, the red one shaking its fist at them and snapped at them in its language, pointing an accusing finger at Lyra Note.

"Uh oh," Lyra and Lyra Note blinked twice.

" **Wing Blade**!"

The green creatures screeched as a white blur shot by, splitting their lower halves from their upper ones. Their bodies flew into an empty square meant for new flowers for the mall and became a pile of severed bodies. They glowed before they melded into the dirt, filling it with fresh flowers of different colors and species. The red creature moved back when the blur came at it. It landed away from the blur, only to see the strings of its shamisen had been cut. It growled before vanishing in a swirl of shadows.

Megaman grunted as he began to get up when a black-gloved hand was held to him. Looking up, Megaman saw the armored face of a familiar ally.

"A-Ace," Megaman groaned as he took the hand and was helped up by Acid Ace.

"Good thing for you two I was nearby when the commotion happened," Acid Ace noted before the three canceled their wave changes, "Mind telling me what those things were about?" he glanced over at Sonia, who was quickly putting her hat and sunglasses back on, "Seems you got a growth spurt since our last meeting, Sonia. Cool."

"Actually...it's...a rather long story," Sonia replied, "Plus...well, we actually don't know what those creatures were."

* * *

The red creature hissed as it appeared around the island Vulpecula was last seen, the ruined town looking a lot different as the red creature looked around for something. Or rather...someone. It ran along the path and made its way to the entrance of the cave, where Vulpecula was looking over the town.

"Did you do it?"

" **#!$! !"** the red creature explained in its tongue, causing Vulpecula to frown a bit.

"An interloper got in your way? Explain."

" **!$!$! $!$($^ !"** the red creature further explained, making a few motions to make it act a bit similar to Megaman and Lyra Note before it pulled out its instrument, pointing to the cut off strings.

"Why didn't you use a distraction to put on new strings?" she frowned.

" **$S$% $^ !"**

"...Ugh. Show me who these interlopers are."

The red creature nodded quickly as it quickly drew into the ground, trying its best to make a picture of Megaman, Lyra Note, Acid Ace, and Omega-Xis.

"...Omega-Xis…" she breathed as she snatched the one of the poorly drawn AM-Ian, "..."

" **...?"** the red creature tilted its head, wondering if its mistress was gonna spare him or not..but also confused as to why she only grabbed the picture of that armored wolf/dragon.

"Leave and go restring your Shamisen," Vulpecula ordered as she returned to the cave, hugging the picture close, "When you do, take some more and return to the mainland."

" **! !$!"** the red creature saluted before running off.

Once it was gone, Vulpecula giggled like a girl in a schoolground, hugging the picture.

She whispered to herself, "Oh, to think that fates would entwine us once again...my love."

* * *

"So this sphere and its box were what caused Sonia to have a growth spurt and bleached Lyra?" Ace pondered as Acid floated beside him.

"Yes, Ace," Geo nodded.

"I see…" Ace noted, holding his chin in thought, "And how long ago did you first come across this sphere?"

"This morning, if I recall."

"Weird...because around that time, that whole 'disappearing-reappearing island' rumor started," Ace stated, "In fact, a lot of rumors have been going around lately this past week."

"Eh?"

"They say last night, a lot of stars in the night sky started disappearing," Ace explained.

=Or to be specific, the ones that make up constellations= Acid added.

"I saw that happening," Geo noted, "The Draco constellation completely vanished right before my eyes when I had looked at the sky at Vista Point last night."

"I see..." Ace noted, "That sphere...this mystery island...the stars disappearing...this can't be a coincidence."

=It is highly unlike they could just be separate incidents= Acid agreed before Ace's VG Hunter went off =Message from Dr. Goodall. It seems to be what Geo, Omega-Xis, Lyra, and Sonia have just explained along with the copy of the image Lyra provided of the sphere=

"Good...bring the image up. I want a close look at this sphere for myself," Ace said.

=Loading= Acid replied before a three dimensional image of the sphere was displayed =She was able to make this from the image data; a complete three-dimensional image of the sphere=

"Hmm...what kind of image are these lines making…?" Ace muttered as he took a look at the sphere.

"It's kinda weird to look at now that I'm seeing it again," Omega-Xis admitted, "I'll still pummel it, though."

"Do you always resort to violence?" Lyra muttered.

"No...I just have a game plan. Pummel first, then ask questions."

"..."

"...What? It works," Omega-Xis huffed.

"...Ugh," Lyra sighed in annoyance.

"Oh come on. You know it. Remember Omnicron Delta-Phi?" Omega-Xis reminded, "Me pummeling that guy got us the access codes."

"Yet you suffered a hole in the gut and ended up with Aquar…"

"Lyra."

Lyra covered her mouth as Omega-Xis just kept an even glare on her before he vanished into the VG Hunter.

"...What was that about?" Geo curiously asked, Ace still examining the image of the sphere.

"It's...not my past to talk about," Lyra replied, looking down before hiding in Sonia's VG Hunter.

"...Eh?" the two teens blinked in confusion at that.

"Hmm…" Ace muttered as he stood up, Acid dismissing the image, "I think I might have to head back to HQ to examine this thing better."

=We'll be sure to inform you of what we uncover= Acid informed.

"Okay," Geo nodded.

"Oh and Geo?"

"Yes?"

"...Do your best to keep your hormones in check around Sonia, especially in her current condition," Ace joked as he walked away, leaving a sputtering and blushing Geo and a confused Sonia.

 **=Was that really necessary, Ace?=** Acid asked from the VG Hunter.

"Hey. I haven't seen the kids in a while," Ace countered, "And you have to admit that they're a cute couple."

 **=Much like you and Tia?=**

"What?! A-Acid!"

 **=Entering sleep mode=**

"Oh no you don't. Y-!" Ace began before his VG Hunter turned off, "...Dang it, Acid."

* * *

 _SZ: And with that, chapter 2 is done. I'm really excited on continuing this story. Even though it still has a few faves and one review so far, I'm still bent on working on this story._

 _GT: Agreed. This is a good story so far. I wonder what Vulpecula's connection to Omega-Xis is and who was Lyra talking about that got Omega-Xis mad at her?_

 _SZ: Good question...guess we'll find out later on as the story goes on._

 _GT: Indeed. But until then, I am GammaTron…_

 _SZ: And i'm Seanzilla115, and we bid you all a good d-*hears an explosion*I...what was that?_

 _GT: I'm not sure._

 _Minion: *pokes head in before whispering me something*_

 _SZ: Ahh….that was the internet that exploded. Reason...the reveal of the Nintendo Switch._

 _GT: Oh yeah...Apparently, it only has a 3 hour battery life when disconnected._

 _SZ: Yeah...and you can play it on the go, so it's both a console, a handheld, and a tablet._

 _GT: Nice. Still...just three hours?_

 _SZ:...yeah...that kinda sucks.…_

 _GT: ...well…*bows* We bid you all adieu. So Read and Review._

 _SZ: Ja ne, and have a good day everyone._


	3. Painting 3

_SZ: *coughs as the entire room was dusty and filled with cobwebs*_

 _GT: *wearing a hazmat suit to be safe*_

 _SZ: Dear lord...we haven't been in here in ages…_

 _Omega-Xis: *floats there, completely covered in dust* I'll say...what took you two so long to update this story?!_

 _GT: *screams like Homer Simpson* Blue and green dragon ghost! *pulls out a chainsaw with sutras put on the flat sides of the blade*_

 _Omega-Xis: I'm not a ghost damn it! *dodges a swipe of the chainsaw*_

 _SZ:...we may need to call in the cleanup crew...in the meantime, let's have our readers watch...er, read the next chapter. But before that...disclaimer!_

 _Omega-Xis: Fine…*ducks under a swipe from GT* these guys don't own me, nor do they own the series used in this story. They do though own any OCs that appear in this or whatever…*ducks under another swipe* STOP DOING THAT, DAMN IT!_

 _GT: The chainsaw isn't working. *throws it away*_

 _Omega-Xis: Good. Now we ca…_

 _GT: *pulls out proto-pak from Ghostbusters*_

 _Omega-Xis: *frowns* ...Really?_

 _GT: FIRE! *starts shooting at Omega-Xis, wrecking the place until the ceiling collapses on all three of us* Ow…_

 _SZ: Son of a bitch!_

* * *

A few days had passed since that battle at the mall with those strange Wave viruses, and...well...nobody could tell what those really were. Were they a new type of Virus? Or were they Wave Navis that had gone rogue? Nobody really knows.

Sonia yawned as she got up from beneath the comfortable covers. She was currently wearing a large pink shirt and lime-green pajama bottoms, the neckline stretching down enough to expose a small hint of cleavage. Since it was extremely rare for them to use it, Hope and Kevin had lent her the guest bedroom as they were trying to figure out what exactly was happening to her and Lyra due to whatever they came into contact with.

=Good morning, Sonia= Lyra greeted =Did you sleep well?=

"Good morning, Lyra," Sonia mumbled as she slid out of the bed and walked over to the dresser to pick up her VG Hunter, "It was good. You have a good sleep?"

=I did, yes= Lyra nodded =I've been up for a while, and waited for you to wake up, so I looked up some stuff to look at until you woke up?=

"Some stuff?" Sonia blinked a bit at that, "Such as...?"

=Well, a few things really. Just some odds and ends= Lyra replied.

"Oh...soka," Sonia noted before looking at the mirror, letting her get a look at her aged up body and sighed, "...I still can't believe this happened to me…"

=I'll say. You look like you're eighteen or twenty instead of sixteen= Lyra admitted =Still, you have to admit that you look as lovely as ever=

"...That is true, I guess," Sonia admitted.

=Plus, the cover story of you having a growth spurt that will be released in another week or so was a good idea to explain the sudden growth= Lyra noted.

"Oh...right," Sonia muttered, _'Kuso...I keep forgetting about that…'_ she then shook her head a bit, "N-nevermind that. What do we have planned for today, Lyra-chan?"

=Well, aside from a test around nine at WAZA for any new chances in either of us, we'll pretty much have a day off= Lyra noted.

"Cool," Sonia smiled a bit, "You think Geo might be available today?"

=Most likely...provided Omega-Xis isn't draggnig him into another 'training' session=

* * *

=ACHOO!=

Geo grunted as he fell out of bed, "Wh-wha? Whu-what's going on?"

=Someone must be talking about me…= Omega-Xis muttered =...I bet it was that out-of-tune harp!=

"You always blame Lyra for everything…" Geo muttered as he stood up.

=Name one...no. Ten times!= Omega-Xis argued.

"Breakfast yesterday, lunch yesterday, dinner yesterday, when you got slapped with the flat of a Mettenna's pickax, when you got run over by that one virus, when mom got you to do a delivery for her, when dad electrocuted you both when he tried eating that one Battlecard to see if he could use Predation since he's half Denpa, a-"

=OKAY, OKAY! I GET IT!= Omega-Xis snapped =Sheesh...ruin my morning further, why don't you…=

* * *

"Okay, there seems to be nothing new at this time," Dr. Goodall noted as Sonia sat on a medical bed as she, Kevin, and a man in a blue blazer, brown pants, and a baseball cap were looking over a series of digital screens, "You are good to go."

"You sure?" Sonia asked.

"Yes. It seems that whatever is inside of you and Lyra has stabilized and is inactive at the moment," Kevin noted.

"Phew…" Sonia sighed a bit in relief as she stood up, "Does this mean my body will stop growing?"

"Most likely," Goodall replied.

"I'm still surprised by this being caused by something infecting you and Lyra during Wave Change," the man admitted, "I mean, I thought it was a growth spurt or something."

"Seeing is believing, Aaron," Kevin chuckled.

"I'll say…" Sonia muttered to herself before sighing a bit.

"...Maybe a distraction is what you need," Dr. Goodall spoke up, catching Sonia's attention.

"Hm?"

"Aron, haven't you been working on some old data?" Goodall asked.

"Wh-what? But...huh? How did you know that?" Aaron blinked twice in surprise.

"You've been working on something from old data?" Kevin asked.

"An elder has her ways," Goodall giggled.

"Old data?" Sonia repeated, "Ano...what old data?"

"Who's Ano?" Aaron asked.

"The thing in her caused her to learn a dead language," Kevin explained, pulling up a screen, "From what I've figured out, 'ano' is akin to the 'um.'"

"Oh," Aaron blinked a few times, "Well, it's actually video-game data that I've been reworking to see if it would work as a sort of VR."

"Oh? Video games?" Sonia blinked.

"Yeah. I came across quite a bit of old game data, and I figured I could possibly rework them," Aaron answered, "Who knows? Maybe kids today will enjoy some of them once I'm done working out the kinks. Course...I'll need to test it out first..."

"..."

=You're thinking of inviting Geo to test this out with you, aren't you?= Lyra asked.

"...Maybe?"

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea. Some of the games I've been working on seem to have been meant for two players," Aaron noted, "When they're done being made into VR, I could put them in a new wing of AMAKEN for kids to enjoy them."

"Cool," Sonia smiled a bit, "I'll give Geo-kun a call right away."

=...Geo-kun?=

"What? It sounds nice."

* * *

"You're getting into recreating video games from old data now?" Geo asked as he and Sonia followed Aaron into a large lab.

"That's right," Aaron nodded.

=Aren't video games those old 8-bit things I've heard about?= Omega-Xis asked =If so...this is gonna be SO BORING~!=

"Not exactly. That was from the earliest days of video games," Aaron explained, "And recent video games have been a bit...lackluster."

"True," Sonia admitted, "There are hardly anything new involving them. It's more like they've just been recycling the same kind of genres."

"Exactly," Aaron grinned, "In truth, I ended up coming across some old game data on a series involving space one night and, well, it branched out after that."

"Neat. So how many games were you able to convert so far?" Geo asked.

"So far only four. But they're rather interesting," Aaron answered, "In order, there's a fighting game, a-"

=Sold!= Omega-Xis exclaimed.

"You didn't let him finish," Geo and Sonia sweatdropped.

=Does it matter? I want some action damn it!= Omega-Xis argued.

Aaron chuckled, "Of course you'd be saying that, Mega."

=Battle crazy meathead…= Lyra muttered.

=Shut it, you! Aaron, take us to the VR Room! Stat! I want my Action now!=

"That's still being made, but I do have some of the latest VR Pods in here that I'm using to test the games," Aaron replied as he led the two teens over to a pair of white orbs with a panel open on both, exposing an empty room in both with a circular platform in the middle of them.

"...Are these safe?" Sonia asked for clarification.

"Of course," Aaron assured, "Just, uh, be careful of any glitches. I found this one old game data from this collecting game and, when I was using an emulator, I was able to collect the glitch and it caused the game to crash and my progress to be lost."

"Ooh…" Geo and Sonia cringed at that, "Noted."

"Yeah...now please. Step inside the pods you two," Aaron said as he motioned to the two pods.

=Fighting game first! FIGHTING GAME FIRST!= Omega-Xis shouted.

"Alright, alright," Aaron chuckled, "Geo and Sonia just have to get into these AR Pods and I'll run the program."

* * *

"...Huh. This is interesting," Sonia noted as she looked at herself, wearing a cream militaristic uniform, a shield resembling a book in one hand and a red sword resembling a pen in the other, "Though...What's with the eyes on my hat and the book?"

=Good question…= Lyra muttered, the 'wings' on the hat moving a bit =...Though I can only imagine what Geo and the dragon-mutt changed into=

"True," Sonia nodded as she looked around the 'stage' which looked more like an imperial church combined with a police station based on the background characters wearing blue uniforms, "Still, this does look beautiful, but I can't help but feel that there's something...wrong...here."

=How so?=

"Well...it's almost as if...there's something...twisted hidden in the shadows, manipulating justice itself for their own gain," Sonia explained.

=I see…= Lyra noted =Now that you mention it, it _does_ feel like that. It's kinda creepy now that I notice it=

Sonia was about to reply when a light shined nearby. She turned to see a sphere of blue energy that changed into Geo. He was wearing a uniform like the soldiers there, but seemed to be more regal looking with a longer jacket that ended at his knees. In his hand was a long katana in a green sheath and a metal device as the guard.

"Oh...you look nice, Geo," Sonia smiled a bit, "Demo...where's Omega-Xis?"

=Why did you go with this guy?= the blade shook in Omega-Xis' voice.

"He looked the least intimidating and the most clothed," Geo replied.

=What was wrong with that Azrael guy?! He looked like he'd be a great fight!= Omega-Xis grumbled.

"And that's what scared me.." Geo muttered.

=Pfft! Please...you've taken on much bigger and scarier than that guy…= Omega-Xis scoffed =But enough about that. Let's get to fighting already!=

=Uncouth as always= Lyra noted, the wings on the hat making a mock applause clap.

=Well at least I'm not a hat= Omega-Xis countered.

"Maa, maa...Let's not get into an argument on who's what," Sonia laughed nervously.

=Better brace yourselves you two= Aaron's voice spoke up =the computer has selected who they'll be using=

"Oh! R-Right!" both teens nodded as data began to form across from the two teens.

Before the two, a slender man with white hair, green and red eyes, and a blood red jacket appeared alongside a young woman with squirrel ears and a tail...wearing a rather revealing acorn-colored fighting outfit that left almost little to the imagination with underboob and her thong straps revealed. The white haired man pulled out a large sword while the squirrel girl whipped out a pair of cross-shaped tonfa that she strapped on her arms.

"...Why do I have a sudden urge to go crazy and yell out 'nii-san'?" Geo asked himself.

"Wh-What is with that outfit?!" Sonia gawked, blushing heavily.

=Now I'm really glad you just picked this one the moment you saw her on the screen= Lyra noted, the eye on the hat twitching.

"A-Aaron-san, what kind of rating did this game have?!"

=Teen=

"TEEN?!" both exclaimed.

"Honto…?" Sonia gawked.

=I know. Surprised me too…= Aaron admitted =Honto means 'really,' right?=

"...There's no way this is a Teen rated g-what's that music playing?" Geo asked as Sonia nodded.

 **=THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING!=**

"Oh no," both teens gulped.

=Whoo! Fighting time!= Omega-Xis cackled.

 **=REBEL 1 - ACTION!=**

" **Hell's Fang!** " the white haired man declared as he shot forward, his fist engulfed in dark energy.

"Whoa!" Geo yelped as he jumped out of the way.

"Spoon!" the squirrel girl cried as she swung a punch at Sonia.

"Who says spoon so seriously?!" Sonia yelped as she blocked the punch with her shield and was sent skidding back.

=I dunno, but be careful, Sonia!= Lyra advised as the squirrel girl jumped back a bit.

"Just to warn you...I don't know how to hold my punches," the squirrel girl taunted before forming an energy sphere, " **Comet Cannon!** " she then reeled her fist back before punching the sphere, sending it rocketing towards Sonia, " **Break Shot!** "

"Yipe!" Sonia yelped as she jumped over the sphere and charged at her, "Take this!"

The squirrel girl quickly brought her arms up, letting her block the attempted slashes at her from Sonia as her tonfa took a majority of the blows. Nearby, Geo was running away from the white-haired man as more of the black and red flames were covering him.

=Come on, Geo! Fight back already!= Omega-Xis barked as Geo was busy avoiding the white-haired man's attacks.

"Trying not to die here!" Geo yelped as he dodged a beast's head made of the 'flames' that sprouted before him.

=Then use me damn it!=

"F-fine!" Geo yelled as he unsheathed the sword, causing ice to form around him.

=Huh...so this blade's got ice powers eh? Huh...kinda like Pegasus Magics...neat= Omega-xis noted =Alrighty Geo, l-=

" **Hell's Fang!** "

"Woah!" Geo yelped as he barely dodged another punch from the making, making him stab his sword into the ground, summoning a large buster-sword made of ice to nearly pierce the man, "?!"

=...Okay. I'm starting to like this game more and more now…= Omega-Xis grinned =Hey out of tune harp! How're you doing on your end?!=

"Gah!" Sonia yelped as she was sent back from a punch to her gut.

=What do you think?!= Lyra snapped =Sonia, are you okay?=

"I...I'll be fine…" Sonia grunted as she stood up...only to see a large energy gate forming behind the squirrel girl as she reeled her arm back.

" **Big Bang…"**

"Uh oh…" Sonia meeped a bit.

" **Smash!** " the squirrel girl declared as she punched forward, sending a giant energy fist at Sonia.

"Oh kami!" Sonia yelped as she barely rolled out of the way of the fist, causing it to smash into the wall as it left a rather large hole in the shape of a fist "?!"

=...Okay. I'm glad we're not fighting her…= Omega-Xis muttered as Geo swung his blade, sending a broadsword made of ice at the white-haired man =So...good luck with that=

=OMEGA-XIS NO BAKA!= Lyra snapped as Sonia barely dodged a rising punch from the squirrel girl.

=...Maybe we should hold off on this one for a while…= Aaron muttered =Next game then=

=What?! No! We're just getting started!= Omega-xis argued =Plus this makes great training for Geo too! So don't you dare change the g-=

=Too late. Change it now=

=DAMN IT!=

* * *

=...Don't. You. Dare…= Omega-Xis growled, now taking the form of a tiki-mask resembling his face.

=Pfft…= Lyra tried hard not to laugh, now in the form of a baby blue laptop held by Sonia, who was wearing a white shirt and coveralls and covered in reddish-orange fur.

"She dared…" Geo commented, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and running shoes while he was covered in red fur, "And where's my shirt?"

=The character you're based on doesn't wear one= Aaron explained =The point of this game is getting to the end of the level while breaking all the boxes you see and collecting the Crystal=

"...Well that doesn't sound so b-" Geo began

=While avoiding various obstacles and facing the boss at the end of the area=

"..."

=So why are they in fur?= Omega-Xis asked.

=They're genetically modified bandicoots= Aaron replied.

=The hell's a bandicoot?=

=No time to explain. Geo and Sonia need to start running from the giant boulder=

"I'm sorry what?" Sonia and Geo blinked at that before they heard something, causing them to slowly turn and see a large boulder rolling towards them ,"?!"

"NANI?!" Sonia yelped.

"Run!" Geo yelped as the two began to run away from the boulder.

=WHOO!= Omega-Xis whooped.

=ONLY YOU WOULD ENJOY THIS!= Lyra exclaimed.

=Just be sure to break any boxes you see!= Aaron reminded the two teens.

"WHY DO WE NEED TO BREAK BOXES?!" Geo shouted as he and Sonia jumped over a pit.

=Break them all, and you get a gem at the end= Aaron explained =Depending on the game, it will either unlock new paths in other levels or unlock the real ending=

"Oh...well the boss at the end of the stage can't be hard then, right?" Sonia asked.

"..."

=...=

"...What?"

* * *

"..."

"..."

=...=

=...Okay. I'll say it. Why did we beat up a fat man in a grass skirt?= Omega-Xis asked as Geo and Sonia sat on top of a tanned-skinned fat man wearing tribal attire.

=Supposedly he's the leader of those tribesmen that tried hunting you down before= Aaron answered.

=Why though? I mean, if he's a boss, he should've put up a better fight damn it!= Omega-Xis ranted =But no! All he did was smash his staff around while going in circles! That's beginners stuff right there!=

=You want to try someone harder then?=

=Omega-Xis, don't you d-= Lyra began.

=Yes! Thank you!=

* * *

=BAKA!= Lyra snapped as Geo and Sonia hid behind some overturned furniture, shielding themselves from the rapid gunfire aimed right at them =WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING YOU BAKA-INURYU!?=

=Woman, I have no idea what you're calling me!= Omega-Xis argued =But I love this! Get that rat while his gun's jammed!=

=Why do I bother…?= Lyra groaned as Geo and Sonia quickly got out of their hiding spot, both spinning in place as they struck a humanoid rat in a red-suit, who was trying to unjam his tommygun.

=I love this= Omega-Xis was absolutely giddy =Pummel him good!=

=Meathead…= Lyra muttered as Geo and Sonia quickly got behind cover once more as the rat began to fire his gun, laughing wildly before his gun jammed again.

"You want to finish him off, or do you want me to?" Geo whispered to Sonia.

"How about we both do it at the same t-kya!" Sonia yelped when the gunfire started once more, "A-Aaron-san, can we please change games after this boss is done with?!"

=Aw…= Omega-Xis whined.

=Sure. It looks like he only need to be hit one more time= Aaron replied.

"Oh thank kami…" Sonia sighed in relief before the gunfire stopped once more.

With that, both Sonia and Geo hurried out of their hiding spot before striking the rat once more, causing him to spin in place before he fell off his desk, the light fixture above him falling right on top of him.

=BWAHAHAHAHAHA!= Omega-Xis cackled =Now that's illuminating!=

=...Wow. You actually know big words=

=Oh screw you, ya out of tune harp!= Omega-Xis barked =But nevermind. Next game!=

* * *

Geo gave out a muffled yell as he was carried on a hook...while a large fish was attached to his upper torso while his legs kicked about.

"Sonia! Come on!" Lyra called, currently a baby-blue, tiny bat, before turning around when she got no response, "Sonia?"

"Ano-ano-ano…" Sonia mumbled with a large blush, trying to cover her bust since she was wearing a red and purple belly dancer's outfit with her hair grown out into a ponytail.

"...oh...I...suppose that would be a problem..." Lyra muttered, "J...just bear through it so we can rescue Geo."

"Wh-what about Omega-Xis?"

"What about him?"

"I can hear you!" Omega-Xis snapped...currently a tiny black humanoid creature in blue pants and bandana with a green scimitar in hand before a fish ate his upper half as well, "MPHM!"

"...Pfft!" Lyra snickered at the sight before shaking it off, "L-let's just focus on rescuing them...and kick the butt of whoever owns this 'mermaid' factory…"

"R-Right…" Sonia nodded.

* * *

"Bah!" Geo gasped out as the fish was pulled off him, revealing that he was wearing just a jacket, bandages on his waist, and shorts with a bandana on his head, "Ahh...hoo...thanks Son-" he tensed when he saw her outfit, a heavy blush forming on his face, "?!"

"And I can't fry that damn fish why?" Omega-Xis growled at Lyra as the bat threw the fish into the water.

"Her," Lyra replied, pointing at a giant mermaid among other smaller mermaids around them, seashells barely keeping the modesty of them all.

"...Oh…" Omega-Xis blinked slowly as he looked up at her, "...Now I know how one of those shrimpy Wave Virus' feel…" a thud went off, "Hey, Geo. Why are you passed out? Did you suffocate in that fish?" silence was his response, "...Geo?"

=I...think he's unconscious…= Aaron commented as Sonia tried to wake up a heavily blushing Geo, _'Then again, I can't really blame him. He's surrounded by girls that are barely wearing anything.'_

"M..maybe we should change games…" Sonia spoke, a plea in her voice.

=Good idea. I have one last one for you to try out anyway=

"As long as it's not boring…" Omega-Xis muttered.

* * *

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSIBLE! YOU CANNOT WALK ON THEM! YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC! THEY WILL ELECTROCUTE YOU! GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES! IF YOU STEP ON THEM... YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER! ORANGE-TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED. THEY WILL MAKE YOU SMELL DELICIOUS! BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES. SWIM THROUGH THEM IF YOU LIKE, BUT... IF YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES! THE PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. ALSO, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A, YELLOW TILE, THE WATER WILL ALSO ZAP YOU! PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY! YOU WILL SLIDE TO THE NEXT TILE! HOWEVER, THE SLIPPERY SOAP... SMELLS LIKE LEMONS! WHICH PIRANHAS DO NOT LIKE! PURPLE AND BLUE ARE OKAY! FINALLY, PINK TILES. THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING. STEP ON THEM ALL YOU LIKE," a tall skeleton explained, standing next to a smaller skeleton in a blue hoodie.

"..." the blue and green dragon teddy bear in Geo's arms had a red button eye twitching.

"What was that again?" Sonia asked, wearing a pink and blue sweater and baggy snow pants, "You lost me after orange tiles smelling delicious."

"TH-"

"We understand! We understand!" Geo shouted, wearing a red and blue sweater.

"GREAT! THEN THERE'S ONE LAST THING! THIS PUZZLE...IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT'LL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"Hoo boy…" Lyra whispered, currently a baby blue angel teddy bear in Sonia's arms.

"GET READY…!" the taller skeleton between it and a short one declared as he flipped the switch, causing the tiles between him and the two teens to start flashing, switching between colors at an incredible pace. This went on for a few more seconds before the tiles finally settled down, a majority of them red while the middle ones were a pink color.

"...Seriously? No _green_?" Omega-Xis complained as the taller skeleton left the area, awkwardly spinning.

=Well the point of this game is sparing your enemies= Aaron explained.

"What?! So no fighting?!"

"You should've payed attention to Toriel-san when we were back at the ruins," Lyra whispered to him.

"The goat can bite me…" Omega-Xis grumbled.

"Oi…" Lyra sighed a bit, "Well unlike you, Sonia and I are enjoying this game."

"That's because you're acting like pacifist. Seriously. So far we've encountered a goat lady, a blind dog that freaked when Geo managed to pet its head, and two skeletons with one making bad puns and one that speaks way too loudly!" Omega-Xis ranted, "...Next person we meet better be awesome."

"And you jinxed it again…" Geo, Sonia, and Lyra sighed.

"Pfft! Please...what's the worse that could happen?"

* * *

"Bad day! Bad day! Bad day! bad day!" Geo and Sonia exclaimed as they ran of a flurry of energy spears fired at them from an armored fish woman, an eye-patch over one of her slit eyes.

"Hahahahah! Now this is more like it!" Omega-Xis laughed

"OMEGA-XIS NO BAKA!" Lyra snapped.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU PUNKS!" the fish woman demanded.

"Geo stop! I wanna fight her head on!"

"NO WAY!"

"Why not?! She can suplex a boulder with no problem! How more badass can you get?!"

"Well said 'badass' is trying to kill us and take our souls!" Sonia shouted before yelping, quickly ducking under an energy spear aimed at her.

"I know! She's awesome!" Omega-Xis beamed before the sound of a phone ringing was heard, "?"

"Nani?" Sonia blinked, stopping for a moment as she pulled out a small cell phone and answered it, "Hello?"

=HEY! WHAT'S UP?= the voice of the tall skeleton answered =I WAS JUST THINKING...YOU, ME, YOUR FRIEND, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME!=

"...Goddammit, Papyrus…" Omega-Xis muttered under his breath, his button eye twitching.

=I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT FRIENDS! LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!=

"Doesn't he realize we're being chased right now…?" Lyra whispered, the four unaware of Undyne impatiently tapping her foot.

=GOODBYE, HUMANS!=

"W-wait! D...and he hung up…" Sonia sighed a bit before yelping as a energy spear nearly hit her, "Kya!"

"Okay...if you two are done talking…" the fish woman paused as she charged at them once more, "GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME!"

"Run away!" Geo and Sonia yelped as they booked it.

"No! Don't run away! I wanna fight her!" Omega-Xis complained.

"You're a freakin' stuffed bear!"

"So?! That won't stop me! I wanna f-did it just get hot?"

"There a volcano under here?!" Geo exclaimed in surprise.

"Hi, Sans! Bye Sans!" Sonia shouted as she and Geo ran by the smaller skeleton, who was currently resting in a small hut.

"RAAAH!" the fish woman yelled as she ran past him as well.

"Huh...wha…" the small skeleton snorted.

As Geo and ran, the two were unaware that the fish woman was starting to sweat heavily, panting as she began to slow down.

"A….armor….too….hot…" she panted, "But...I mustn't...give up...I...must…" she finally gave him as she collapsed, falling face first into the ground.

"...Oh come on!" Omega-Xis exclaimed, "This heat's beating Undyne!? The most badass thing down here?!"

"Well she is a fish woman after all," Lyra stated, "Add in the heat in here affecting the armor…"

"...Geo, give her some water! Fast!"

"Huh?"

"Give that baddass fish woman some water before she dries up!" Omega-Xis snapped, "I wanna fight her, dammit!"

Geo sweatdropped a bit at that, "...Even if I wanted to, where can I find...some…" he trailed off as he found a watercooler nearby, "..."

"That….seems way too convenient…" Sonia sweatdropped.

"Agreed…" Lyra added.

"I guess she must come here often?" Geo guessed as he walked over and blinked twice when he put his hand on the jug, "Huh...Okay, this is freezing."

"Okay good, so hurry up and give it to her!" Omega-Xis shouted.

"Okay okay!" Geo yelped, taking a paper cup from the side before filling it up with water from the cooler. He then rushed over to Undyne's unconscious body and poured the water over her.

"...Ugh…" Undyne grunted as she got up, shaking her head a bit as she looked at the two teens, "..."

"Finally. Now come on! Let's f-" Omega-Xis began before Undyne began to walk away, "Oh, COME ON!"

"..." Lyra began to crack up in Sonia's arms.

"DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH, YOU OUT OF TUNE HARP!"

Lyra just laughed harder.

"Damn it...I wanted my fight…" Omega-Xis slumped, a depressing aura around him, "Now my mood's ruined…"

"...I think that's enough for today then…" Geo spoke, "Right, Sonia?"

"Hai," Sonia nodded.

* * *

"So...what did you two think?" Aaron asked once Geo and Sonia walked out of the pods.

"That was really fun," Sonia noted as Omega-Xis grumbled nearby, "Especially with how Omega-Xis reacted to some parts."

"I wanted my awesome fight with Undyne, damn it!," Omega-Xis complained "And I never got to finish my fight with that white-haired man in that fighting game!"

"He'll be fine…" Lyra waved him off, "But yes. Those games were pretty interesting, depsite two of them having some...ahem. Rather revealing outfits..."

"H-Hai…" Sonia blushed, having worn one of the two revealing outfits.

"I apologize about that…" Aaron said before pondering for a moment, "Though...while I looked through the files, some of the moves used in that fighting game could be useful in Wave Virus busting if used right…"

"Really?" Omega-Xis looked up in interest.

"Back in the days of Net Navies, people would often make customized battle chips to help in battle, sometimes using stuff from games or tv shows as inspiration," Aaron explained, "Some were so powerful that only a Metastable NetNavi could truly use them to their full potential."

"Metastable?" Geo and Sonia repeated.

"It's when an AI becomes so lifelike that they become akin to humans. It most often happened in just NetNavis that had a human base to them, which makes sense considering what Metastability is," Aaron explained, "A pseudo-Metastability program was made for NetNavis that were incapable of that due to being too different from humans in appearance but a group of scientists did create a pair of programs for male and female NetNavis to use to become Metastable."

"Really?" Geo asked, earning a nod, "Huh...interesting."

"Yeah yeah. Interesting," Omega-Xis waved off, "Tell me more about customized chips! I wanna wield that rat's gun! no...I wanna wield that gun AND use Undyne's energy spears! All while that badass theme of hers is playing in the background!"

"Oh geez…" Lyra rolled her eyes, "Though...that does sound beneficial…making custom BattleCards I mean."

"If you like, I can give you two copies of the game data so you can make some custom BattleCards of your own," Aaron offered Geo and Sonia.

"Really? Thanks," Geo smiled.

"Arigatou, Aaron-sensei," Sonia bowed.

"No problem," Aaron smiled a bit, "Just be sure to not go overboard."

"Got it/hai."

* * *

"...Okay. I knew it was a good idea to not choose that Azrael guy…" Geo whispered as he looked through the game data, the teen sitting in his room, "He uses limiters to make sure he doesn't 'overdo' it."

"Overdo it?! Bah!" Omega-Xis snorted, "There's no such thing as overkill!"

"His finisher-or Astral Heat as it's called in the game he's from-has him lift a giant chunk of rock with the opponent still on it, he punches it just as it's coming back down-with his limiters off-, and it results in a pseudo nuclear explosion."

"..." Omega-Xis pushed his jaw up, "...I LOVE IT!"

"The fallout of a nuclear explosion would destroy all electronics in the area and destroy anything made of electromagnetic waves," Geo deadpanned, "Including _us_."

"...You win this round, science," Omega-Xis seethed at the sky, shaking a fist at it.

Geo rolled his eyes a bit at that as he continued to look through the game data. While most current fighting games he played did not' tend to have an actual story, the one Aaron had found seemed to have a rather interesting one. His face lit up in a blush when he opened one of the image files before closing it immediately.

"...Found an image of that squirrel girl?"

"..."

"...Your silence says it all…" Omega-Xis chuckled.

"You try anything to get those open and I will refuse to Wave Change for a month for Virus Busting," Geo threatened.

"...Fine…" Omega-Xis muttered, "Then look up more stuff on the male characters then. I'm sure you'll find something awesome in there…"

"Right…"

* * *

Over in Sonia's temporary room, she was looking over the data as well, looking over some of the info on the female characters in the fighting game she and Geo played.

"...Okay. What in the world are those women eating to get figures like that?" Lyra asked as she looked at some of the images of the more mature female characters.

"I...I honestly don't know…" Sonia answered with a small blush before shaking it off, "Demo...despite their...ahem, attire, their backgrounds are pretty interesting, especially the one on Makoto Nanaya…" a sad sigh escaped her lips, "She suffered so much hate since she was child, all because she was a Beastkin…But..." a small smile soon grew on her face, "I'm glad she was able to find true friends like Noel and Tsubaki."

"Agreed," Lyra nodded, "She reminds me of you a bit."

"Eh?"

"Well, think about it; you both didn't have real friends until you met two who ended up becoming your friends," Lyra compared, "For her, it was Yayoi Tsubaki and Vermillion Noel; while you have Geo-san and I."

"...Huh. You're right…" Sonia noted, her small smile growing a bit as she placed a hand over her heart, "If it weren't for you and Geo-kun...I wouldn't be the person I am today…"

"Hai," Lyra giggled gently.

Sonia giggled a bit with her as she looked back at the images, "Maybe I should make some BattleCards based on her moves, just in case any enemies get up close...ooh. And maybe I can implant Noel and Tsubaki's moves into a few BattleCards somehow."

"Bolverk seems like a good weapon. Based on it being able to bypass Guards, it could be used to bypass protections on some viruses and any EM Change beings that have a defensive measure like a guard," Lyra noted.

"Ohh! Good idea," Sonia nodded, "Ooh. And in case I need to hide out from paparazzi, I could use some of Shantae's transformations to change myself."

"Just not the outfit?"

"L-Lyra-chan!" Sonia exclaimed, blushing.

"I'm just joking around," Lyra giggled.

"Mmm…" Sonia pouted a bit as she looked back at the game data, "What else can I implement into Battle Cards…?"

"...Not sure if it could work...but why not make a Battle Card that could summon one of these characters temporarily?" Lyra asked, "I mean, Geo and the mutt had something similar before."

"True. I mean, remember when they summoned a copy of us as Lyra Note?" Sonia recalled, "I was so shocked that I ended up tied up in my own strings that I sent at myself!" she paused for a few moments, "That was a rare sentence."

"Very much so…" Lyra agreed, "Let's...just focus on who we'll pick for those Summon Battle Cards."

"Right," Sonia agreed, "...Oh! We could probably go look for them on the Wave Roads, too!"

"Nani?"

"For more old game data. We can take it to Aaron-sensei and ask for a copy of the data once he figures it out," Sonia noted.

"Ohh! That's a good idea!"

"Arigato," Sonia giggled a bit, "...You think we're slipping into that dead language more often now?"

"I'm not sure since we both can understand each other and it sounds like our normal tongue," Lyra admitted, "I'm just glad Stellar-san is making a translation book for everyone."

"Hai," Sonia nodded, "Though...this is also good and bad for singing. Bad because I may slip into the dead language in the middle of a song, but good because it could open a new way for my songs."

"True…" Lyra nodded, "...Why not add subtitles to help with translation for your songs just in case?"

"Great idea!" Sonia beamed before remembering what they had been doing, "But let's make some new Battle Cards, first."

"Hai."

* * *

"No, you fool!" one of the strange ape-like creatures screeched as Vulpecula slapped it upside the head, "The form's too unnatural. Too much in the stomach and too skinny in the arms. If you're trying to be hidden amongst them as one of my spies, you need to better your disguise!"

The strange ape-like creature tried to say something to her, only to get slapped once more.

"No! Go back and do it better!" the humanoid nine-tailed FM-ian snapped before sighing as she laid a hand on her cheek, "Ah mou...Why must I deal with such fools? Why can't I get more...competent minions? ...Oh well. No use worrying about it now...I just need to focus on my task. Capturing the Brush Gods for my master...and reunite with my beloved~" she purred out before one of the ape-like creatures ran up to her, Mou~! What now?!"

The creature began to chitter and hoot. Vulpecula's eyes widened a bit as it spoke.

"Are you sure?" she questioned, earning a nod from the creature, "Purrfect. To think it was there all this time. Take some troops and stir it up enough to bring out the one who has _that_ inside of them."

The creature saluted as he ran off.

"Purrfect...just purrfect~" the humanoid FM-ian whispered as she walked off to her cave, her nine fox tails swaying a bit, "Should she die, we can gain what she took. Should she succeed, we gain what else was lost. Either way…" she smirked, "We still win."

* * *

Elsewhere, within a lone valley stood a massive cherry blossom tree, a calm wind blowing through as it blew away a few of the cherry blossoms. Floating at the very top of the tree was a lone figure. A vision of beauty, the figure was a woman with the fairest skin, as smooth as the purest of silks as a soft purple aura came off her. She wore a pink and red silk yukata ("Bath Clothing" - a Kimono normally worn in the summer which is normally a cotton-based kimono instead of silk) with a purple wrap going over her shoulders and above her head, resembling purple clouds floating above her. White rope held the red sash just under her bosom with another white rope was tied around her waist, the rest of the sash making a sort of mini-skirt beneath. Her chest would have been completely exposed were it not for a pair of leaves covering just enough to make a window to her cleavage while her behind was tastefully exposed in a cutout on the back of her yukata in the form of a peach. Her long, flowing black hair as pure as the night sky in color was pulled back into a branch-like bun with two long locks of it going down the sides of her face and ending at her shapely hips. More leaves held her bun in place, the vine-like bun resembling more of a bud of sorts within the leaves due to it.

The woman lightly fingered one of the purple earrings on her ears with dainty, slender, manicured fingers. How long had it been since she had last seen her old friend? Thousands of years by now if she remembered right. She wondered if her old friend remembered her or not...or if she remembered the valley she once called home. Her thoughts were soon interrupted when she felt it...an ill wind that blew through the area, causing a nearby smaller sakura tree to start wilting.

"!?" the woman floated down towards the tree, "What could have caused this?" she then touched the tree gently, only to recoil as she moved away, "?! ...I...it can't be...he still lives?" she then looked up at the sky, "Amaterasu...wherever you are...it seems you may have to fight once more…"

* * *

 _SZ: *dust hands off as the studio was now completely clean*phew...that took a while, but this place is finally clean._

 _GT: And I fixed the ceiling._

 _SZ: and the power has been rewired, so this place is good to go once more._

 _GT: Yep. We'll just need to remember that Sonia and Lyra are the only ones who will be using the Japanese and keep it away from everyone else and we'll be good for the story. And that no one destroys the studio again._

 _SZ: Eeyup...though we may need to rehire some security since the FNaF animatronics went kaput._

 _GT: *grumbles* Lousy no good Maximum Mighty X…A ton of good fighters and protectors kaput and unable to be put on the job due to reprogramming from that. And since apps also count, there goes the Minions…_

 _SZ: Dan...and we can't rehire the Prinnies. O.n….pretty much scared them. So who are we gonna hire for security?_

 _O.N: who the fuck fired the prinnies, minions and rabbids?!_

 _SZ: AHH! O.N?!_

 _GT: They had a 'No Reprogramming from Mighty Maximum X Gashat' clause in their contracts._

 _O.N: prinnies do whatever the hell i need them to do i can reprogram them rabbids i don't bother cause i love those fuckers and minions are from movies i can't rewrite movies._

 _GT: Yes, but they are also in video games and apps such as Minion Run. Since they're in games, you can reprogram them._

 _O.N: GT anything originally from games i reprogarm if it originite from something else i can't touch it. Now someone rehire those prinnies, those rabbids and get those minions bacvk here before i come back from me and Z0's annunal Grand Order boat trip!*gets my hat out of the room* Good Day!*flies off*_

 _GT: Ah. Well, I need to go make new contracts...Not it for getting the Prinnies from Laharl, though._

 _SZ: Yeah...so best get the Minions and Rabbids back...provided the latter are not screwing around in the Mushroom Kingdom still._

 _GT: ...Yeah...see, here's the thing. As a severance package, I kinda gave all of them tickets to the Mushroom Kingdom and, well...yeah...They're all in Mushroom Kingdom and I do not want to get involved with that._

 _SZ:...that would explain SO much...ahem! Anyways...we hope you people enjoyed this chapter, and be on the look for another one in the near future. So read and review._

 _GT: Until next time, everyone. Have fun. *waves*_


	4. Painting 4

_SZ: Hey once again, minna. We're here to bring ya another Rising Sun chapter, and...well, it's slow, but we're getting reviews. Mostly from Bigby, but still. Those are some pretty good reviews he leaves._

 _GT: True._

 _SZ: Hai. And...uh...shoot. I can't think of anything to say. GT? Mind dealing with the disclaimer and moving onto the story?_

 _GT: Very well. We do not own Okami, Megaman Star Force, or references to other games. They are owned by their respective owners._

 _SZ: *Nods* now let's beg-*hears a crash, followed by a roar*...uh...GT? Was...that one of the Rabbids?_

 _GT: Not sure._

 _SZ: You sure? Beca-*the wall burst open, revealing a roaring Rabbid Kong*0x0_

 _GT: …*throws a banana over to Knuckles the Echidna as he was walking in*_

 _Knuckles: Huh. Thanks! *eats the banana*_

 _SZ: 0-0….*grabs GT and runs*_

 _Knuckles: Huh? Wh-_

 _Rabbid Kong: *roars in pure anger as he tackled Knuckles just as the curtain fell down*_

 _Knuckles: *offscreen* Oh man!_

* * *

"Mmm...just about done…" Sonia muttered as she worked on a BattleCard, "Ah mou...This is harder than I thought it'd be."

=It'd take longer without me with you, I suppose= Lyra agreed =Oh! Sonia, change that to a bracket or it will just result in us getting a bug=

"Good idea," Sonia nodded as she did so, looking at the small pile of BattleCards, "Hope these turn out okay. Worked almost all night just to make these."

=True. It's nearly three forty-two in the morning= Lyra noted.

"Three f-?!" Sonia sputtered as she looked at the time, "...Wow. I have been working all night…"

=Betcha Geo's still up doing the same thing=

* * *

=Come on...hurry and finish…= Omega-Xis muttered impatiently.

"Okay, just a few more lines and this last one will be finished," Geo replied.

=Finally! Can't wait to go buck wild with those!=

"Shh!" Geo hushed, "Quiet. It's nearly four in the morning."

=Not my fault you spent that long making those BattleCards. The wait alone was getting my blood boiling=

"You were the one who wouldn't let up about making these new ones. It's like when you wanted me to go to school back when we first met," Geo deadpanned.

=True, but thank those old games Aaron found for getting me so pumped in using those moves from that fighting game...and playing that badass theme of Undine's while wielding her spear!=

"Shh!"

=Don't shush me! Y-don't you dare mute m-!= Omega-Xis began.

"Phew," Geo sighed in relief, removing his finger from the activated mute button, "Okay...just gotta finish up, and it's off to bed."

* * *

The moonlight shined upon an elegant tree. Surrounding it was a myriad of flowers and plants with signs saying their names set up neat each patch. At the outer reaches of the area, one could barely see the grid-like solid Denpa acting as a dome of sorts for the area. The only thing out of place was a cave sealed by a large boulder. As the moonlight shined upon the rock, it revealed a worn out piece of paper on it. An automatic sprinkler activated and rained down upon the area. The paper, assaulted by the water from above, finally gave in and fell off in pieces. The cracks around the boulder shined with a black and red energy for a moment before the boulder began to move, exposing a pair of eyes that glowed briefly.

* * *

Sonia stretched as she awoke, "Ah...That felt great. Hope I didn't sleep in too late today." she slid out of bed, wearing a pink and lime-green sleeping gown that barely reached her knees, before checking the time on her Transer, "Eh? Nani?" she opened the window and blinked a few times as she saw the sunrise, "I only slept for a few hours."

=Huh...odd= Lyra spoke up.

"Hai...What's weird is that it doesn't even feel like I've only slept for a few hour, but more like a full nine," Sonia tilted her head.

=That is weird…= Lyra noted =Is this another side effect of the change?=

"Maybe…" Sonia nodded, "Still…" she looked back out at the sunrise, smiling a bit, "It's kind of nice being up to watch the sunrise."

=Yeah. Almost...fitting in a way= Lyra admitted =Maybe we were a sun goddess in our past life?=

"That's silly, Lyra," Sonia giggled, "Well, since I feel like I'm fully rested, might as well get dressed."

=Sounds like a plan. I'll check and see if anything interesting popped up in the news=

* * *

"Good morning, Geo-kun!" Sonia greeted, wearing a white t-shirt and red jeans under a red short-sleeved jacket, as Geo walked down the stairs.

"Mor'in'..." Geo mumbled, small bags under his eyes.

"It's almost nine-thirty, Geo. You didn't stay up all night watching the stars from your skylight again, did you?" his mother asked.

"All night; yes. Watching the stars...no…" Geo muttered as he held up his VG Hunter.

"Ah. I need to set some ground rules for him," she frowned, looking at te device before it and Sonia's VG Hunter began to buzz together.

=It's Ace= Lyra informed.

"Eh? Ace-san? What could he want this early in the morning?" Sonia blinked as she answered, "Moshi-moshi?"

=Mushy-mushy?= Ace blinked twice.

=M-o-s-h-i, Ace= Acid informed.

"Hai," Sonia nodded.

=Adding it to the notes on the dead language= Acid informed.

"Is everything…" Geo paused to yawn, "...okay?"

=There's a situation in the Blossom Highlands' Blossom Flower Park= Ace informed =We're managing to keep it quiet, but considering the place is supposed to resume business in a few days we need to figure out how to deal with this quickly before people come here=

"We'll be there as soon as…" Geo yawned again, "Sorry. We'll be there as soon as we can."

=Right. Bud's already on his way here, so don't wait up for him. And, uh...you need some coffee, Geo?=

"Omega-Xis."

=...Yeah, I'll see if there's any coffee here then if you don't have any there= Ace nodded before hanging up.

"Oh, now that takes me back," Hope smiled fondly as Kevin walked down the stairs, "Your father proposed to me there right below the biggest tree there."

"...Blossom Highlands' Blossom Flower Park?" Kevin asked for clarification.

"Ace wants us to meet him there," Geo explained.

"Wave Change business?"

"Most likely, Kevin-Hakase," Sonia replied.

"Good luck out there then," Kevin grinned before tapping his cheek, "Hopefully it's nothing too bad. I was thinking of an outing to there when it's time to pick blueberries."

"Oh, honey," Hope giggled.

=Ick. Get going before they start kissing, kid…= Omega-Xis grumbled =All this love talk is reminding me of my Ex=

"Your what?"

=NOTHING! YOU HEARD NOTHING!= Geo yelped as the VG Hunter on his arm was tugged hard towards the door =Wave Change now! Let's go see what the jerk wants!=

"Okay okay! I'm going, I'm going!"

=It's not even the afternoon and already he ain't right in the head…= Lyra sighed.

=SHUT IT, OUT OF TUNE HARP!=

=BAKA!= Lyra barked.

* * *

"So what do you think we're going to find there?" Megaman pondered as the two traveled the Wave Roads.

"Not sure," Lyra Note answered.

"Well, we're coming up on the exit to the we should know soon," Lyra noted.

=Ugh. Finally! I'm itching for a good fight!=

"Mega…" Megaman sighed.

Lyra Note giggled before tensing a bit as they were getting onto the new Wave Road. Megaman looked around as he noticed that the skies were much darker than they should've been for a cloudless morning. In fact, it was as if the sun had become absent.

"Geo-kun…" Lyra Note gasped as she pointed ahead, "Look!"

Megaman looked ahead and his eyes widened. The wide open field on the plateau ahead of them was littered with a strange black and red fog of sorts, seemingly sucking the light around them. There was hardly anything except for bits of clear land that seemed to be drained of their colors while a lone tree without a single sign of life on it stood in the center of it all near a cave entrance covered by a boulder.

=What the….what is this?= Omega-Xis asked.

"D...dark...so dark…" Lyra Note whispered.

"It feels like every frequency of my being is screaming 'danger' when I'm here," Lyra gulped before looking, "I see Ace down there near the tree!"

"Hopefully he knows what's going on," Megaman said as they flew down towards the tree.

"Yo!" Ace greeted as the two landed.

"You have seen the area, have you not?" Acid asked, hovering beside him.

=Hard not to from where we were at= Omega-Xis snorted as he materialized, "What the hell's going on here?"

"We're not sure," Ace frowned, "The landowner called me about this appearing in the early morning, but when I got here…"

He pointed towards one patch of the 'fog.' The two looked and blinked twice. Near the 'fog' was a statue of an elderly man, a hand reaching out as if about to touch the 'fog.'

"That is the landowner," Ace informed.

"?!"

"You mean that's a statue of the guy?"

"No," Acid replied before displaying a screen that played a security feed of the elderly man standing where the statue was reaching out to the 'fog' before his body turned to stone right on screen, "That _is_ the landowner."

"Ace!" a voice called before a red, orange, and cream-colored humanoid armored minotaur ran up, "Everyone around here...the other workers...they're just like the landowner."

"...Damn it. What the hell is with this fog?" Omega-Xis growled.

"We're not sure," Ace replied.

"Analysis on it hasn't provided any insights, but visual observation has provided that this fog seems to absorb light and has the property of petrification upon contact," Acid noted, "However, attempts to remove the fog have been unsuccessful. They do not blow away from wind or sucked into vacuum-like devices and, as mentioned, contact results in instant petrification."

"Could this have been caused by a Wizard or FM-Ian rogue?" Megaman pondered.

"Not to this level," Omega-Xis noted.

 **-He's right-** a deep voice came from the bull-themed figure, the gold bull head-shaped emblem flashing in time with the voice **-I've never seen any FM-Ians that could do this mist stuff. I do know that Ophiuchus could turn others to stone with her laser eyes, but that's the only petrification user I knew-**

"We have no reports of a Wizard going berserk from Noise," Acid added.

"...Then what's causing this?" Megaman asked.

"Not sure…"

"Sonia, what do you…" the bull began to ask as he turned, only to see Lyra Note looking up at the tree, "...Uh, Sonia?"

Lyra Note just looked at the tree. For a moment, she didn't see the landscape as it was at the moment. Instead, she saw the tree in full bloom amidst a field of flowers and animals with the sun shining upon it all as if watching it all like a mother to their children. Resting upon a branch of the tree was a beautiful woman in a pink dress with peach-shaped cutouts on her impressive chest and on her behind, looking right at her in hope. She motioned towards a cave entrance, sealed behind a boulder, before a flurry of cherry blossom petals went by her eyes and the ruined landscape was back in her sight.

"...who...was that?" Lyra Note whispered to herself.

"Sonia!"

"Ahh! H-hai?!" Lyra Note asked, shaking her head a bit.

"Well, hi to you, too," the bull greeted.

"Uh, Bud, I think that her speaking the dead language again," Ace noted.

"See? The way that sounds would throw off any enemy!" Omega-Xis grinned.

"Is everything okay?" Megaman asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Ano…" Lyra Note looked at the cave that the woman had motioned to, "Was this always open?"

"...Uh...last I checked, no," Ace replied.

"Examining data from security files," Acid informed before speaking up after a moment, "Footage recorded something coming off a boulder before the cave entrance during the initial testing of the new rain program last night. After that, recording equipment was knocked out."

"So when they were still on, a boulder was there," Megaman noted.

"Well, I think I know what this calls for," Ace grinned, "Let's go spelunking!"

"YEAH!" Omega-Xis whooped, "...Wait. The hell does Spelunking mean?!"

* * *

"Oh, so you meant 'Let's go into the cave,'" Omega-Xis noted.

"Baka-inu…" Lyra muttered.

"...Okay, I don't know what that means, but I get the feeling you just insulted me," Omega-Xis growled.

"Omega-Xis, calm down," Megaman sighed as they continued down into the cave.

"Arigatou for the light, Taurus Flame," Lyra Note smiled at the bull-like figure, flames coming out of vents on him to light up their way.

"No prob," Taurus Flame gave a thumbs up before whispering to Ace, "Psst. What does 'Arigatou' mean again?"

"Uh...Acid?"

"Kevin Stellar's notes correlate 'Arigatou' with 'Thank you.' There is a variation called 'Arigatou gozaimasu,' which means 'Thank you very much,'" Acid informed.

"Huh...That's kinda neat," Taurus Flame noted.

"...Huh. It kinda is now that I…" Ace began before spotting some light up ahead, "...I think I see an exit up ahead."

"That was fast…" Omega-Xis muttered a bit.

The group entered the exit, covering their eyes a bit for the glare of the light until their eyes settled. Before them was a large cavern with purple and black water going down pathways while the ground was littered in moss and foliage. A crack at the top of the cavern allowed light to shine into the area.

"Alarm. Unknown contaminants in the water," Acid warned, "It is ill-advised to make contact with it, even in Wave Change."

"Oh, gee...Ya think?" Omega-Xis snorted before seeing some of the water splash onto the ground and on a patch of grass before it hissed and rotted away almost immediately, "Yeesh. What kinda water is this?"

"...Poison…" Lyra Note spoke, earning their attention, "I'm not sure, but….I think it's poison."

"Could this be why the big tree out there looks like it's dying?" Taurus Flame pondered.

"Most likely. If so...who's producing the poison?" Ace pondered.

"Well, there's only one real way to find out," Lyra Note replied.

"We follow the water where it comes from," Megaman nodded.

"Right!" Ace grinned, "Let's get going then!"

"Beginning mission," Acid informed.

"Let's go!" Taurus Flame roared.

' _That poison...why do I feel something...dark emanating from it?'_ Lyra Note thought, taking one last look at the poisoned water.

" _ **Kero."**_

"Eh?" Lyra Note blinked.

" _ **Kero."**_

"What was that?" Megaman pondered.

" _ **Kero kero kero."**_

"Alarm. Motion detected in the water," Acid informed.

"Get ready…" Ace ordered, the group standing ready as something began to surface.

Jumping out of the water was a toad of sorts. Its slimy skin was a pale red while it had pale blue frills around its neck. It was also big, roughly the size of a golden retriever. Several more jumped out of the water.

" _ **Kero. Kero kero kero."**_

"Care oh?" Taurus Flame raised a brow.

"Nani? I keep hearing them croaking. Where are you getting a caring king from?" Lyra Note tilted her head.

"What? They calling their boss or something?" Omega-Xis snorted.

" _ **KERO…!"**_

"...I swear if you invoked Murphy, I'm killing you, baka-inu," Lyra growled out as something large began to slowly surface.

"What does that mean?! I didn't invoke any…!" Omega-Xis began before the water erupted.

" _ **KERO!-!-!"**_

Landing in the only clean pool of water before them was a massive two-story toad. Its body was primarily a bloodshot red while its underside was a dark, sickly yellow. Its head was covered in spikes turning the same color as its underside, shaped to be akin to a crown of sorts. It had a pale blue frill around its neck, wider than its own body and decorated in intricate black swirls. Covering its left eye was a massive gold coin of sorts with a square-shaped opening in the center that let two large dark-brown ropes to be attached to it as an eyepatch.

"...That's a big toad…" Taurus Flame whispered.

" _ **And what brings you little animals here, kero?"**_

"It talks!" Megaman exclaimed.

"There are no traces of electromagnetic waves emanating from it," Acid observed, "It is completely organic."

" _ **You're not here to make a joke about defeating me, are you, kero?"**_ the toad sounded amused.

"Wh-Who...What is this thing?" Lyra whispered in shock.

" _ **Not even a Fudegami can match me, kero,"**_ the toad informed before noticing something shining on Lyra Note, _**"What is this?"**_

"Wh...why's it staring at me?" Lyra Note gulped.

"Your tattoo's glowing, that's what," Omega-Xis pointed out that, sure enough, the red heart-shaped tattoo on her body was shining right through her outfit.

" _ **A Fudegami is with you? How interesting. Gya-gyah-gyah!"**_ the toad noted with a laugh, _**"Since you have brought one here, then I shall play with you, kero!"**_

"Bring it on, Froggy!" Omega-Xis declared, "Geo, let's kick some froggy a-"

" _ **I AM NOT A FROG, KERO!"**_ the toad roared, the cavern rumbling from it, _**"You will refer to me as Master Anura, pitiful mutt!"**_

"MUTT?!" Omega-Xis snapped, "Okay, that's it! You're going down, froggy!"

Master Anura's sole eye narrowed at Omega-Xis before his body erupted in a menacing dark aura. The smaller toads all turned their attention on Omega-Xis, their eyes glowing briefly. Their cheeks swelled out before he was repeatedly struck by a barrage of red tongues, knocking him into a wall.

" _ **Insolent mutt,"**_ Master Anura rumbled before slamming his webbed hands down on the ground, causing bits of the ceiling to fall down at them, _**"I will crush you all for his defiance!"**_

"...Acid…"

"Affirmative."

"Transcode 001! Acid Ace! On the Air!" Ace called out before Acid combined with him into Acid Ace and became a blur, swiftly slicing through the rocks about to hit them, "This will be a first. Fighting something that _doesn't_ have EM Waves."

"Oh no! I called dibs!" Omega-Xis exclaimed.

" _ **Don't waste my time, fools. The young Fudegami girl is mine...you can all play with the Imps."**_

"Imps?" Taurus Flame repeated.

Anura inhaled before expelling a purple smoke on the toads. Their bodies twisted and shifted until they became the same creatures Megaman and Lyra Note had fought in the mall with three of them becoming the ones with the two-stringed instruments.

"More of these things," Megaman gulped.

"Any advice on how to fight them?" Taurus Flame asked.

"Cut the strings on their weird guitars and they panic," Acid Ace replied.

"Shimasen," Lyra Note corrected on pure reflex.

" _ **Shimasen, fleshbag,"**_ Anura corrected at the same time.

"There's a difference?" Acid Ace raised a brow before ducking under a strike from one of the creatures, "...Bud, back me up here. Geo, Sonia, the toad's yours."

"Okay! Let's go!" Omega-Xis roared.

"Wizard Off," Megaman stated as Omega-Xis vanished into his left arm.

 **-Aw come on!-** Omega-Xis barked before the two jumped out of the way of the toad's webbed hand trying to crush them.

"You want to test those new Battle Cards or not?" Megaman argued, "Because I think we're gonna need them for this fight."

 **-WHOO!-** Omega-Xis roared.

"Incoming!" Lyra Note yelped as Anura's cheeks swelled up before he fired his long tongue out like a spear.

"Hoo boy!" Megaman yelped as he and Lyra Note jumped out of the way.

 **-Oh it wants a 'spear' battle eh?! Geo, do it!-**

"Right...Battle Card Predation! Undyne's Spear of justice!"

Holding out his left hand, a spear of blue energy formed before it. He quickly grabbed it before throwing it at Anura. It passed through him, leaving behind no physical evidence while he grunted in pain.

"...What did that accomplish?" Taurus Flame asked, currently punching the face of one of the green creatures, "And what's that music playing?"

 **(Cue: Spear of Justice(Undyne's Theme))**

"Mega refused to leave it be unless I made it do that," Megaman sighed, "As for what it does, the spear attacks internally. Couldn't really duplicate it attacking the soul, so I went for that."

" _ **You insolent ningen, kero,"**_ Anura croaked before diving into the pure water and shot out of it and slammed the ceiling, causing more stalagmites to start falling down.

"Battle C-" Megaman began.

"Battle Card Predation! Nox Nyctores Bolverk!"

Lyra was engulfed in red denpa before dispersing into a pair of ornate pistols as long as Lyra Note's arms. Lyra Note spun the guns around before she began to fire them at the falling stone spikes, blowing them up with energy shots. Anura fell back down towards the clean water and exposed his rather enlarged belly and the swollen belly button on it. Megaman and Lyra Note fired at it at the same time just before Anura landed in the water. Emerging from it, Anura coughed and gagged until he turned around and hacked up a large blue fruit, crushing one of the Shimasen-playing Imp and making Taurus Flame skid to a halt in his charge at it.

" _ **Not bad. Not bad at all…"**_ Anura grunted as he turned around to the two, _**"You made me throw up the fruit I ripped from the Guardian Sapling's roots, kero!"**_

"Guardian Sapling?" Lyra Note repeated.

"Does he mean the dying tree outside of this cave?" Megaman pondered.

"Roots?" Acid Ace pondered before noticing a cluster of roots nearby, shaped as if they were meant to hold something, "Maybe...Taurus Flame, get that fruit over to those roots!"

"You got it!" Taurus Flame roared as he grabbed the fruit and began running towards the cluster of roots.

" _ **You think I will let that happen?"**_ Anura asked.

He shot his tongue out at Taurus Flame, only for Lyra Note to shoot at his tongue as several blue energy spears impaled the tongue. Anura screeched in pain as Taurus Flame managed to get to the roots.

"What now?"

"Put it in the roots!" Acid Ace replied, spinning around to bisect a flute-playing Imp.

"Got it!" Taurus Flame nodded..

 **-I don't get why we need to do this-** Taurus admitted as Taurus Flame slammed the fruit into the roots.

" _ **?!"**_ Anura's eye widened before he let out a screech, letting a sphere of forest-green light come from his mouth and into the fruit, causing the fruit to start glowing and made the roots hold it close as the energy went up into them.

"I get it now. This guy must have used that fruit to absorb the energy of the area," Acid Ace noted, looking around and spotting two more clusters, "Try to make him hack up more of those fruits!"

" _ **Bah! I can live without a fruit or two!"**_ Anura declared before more of the dog-sized toads came out of the poisoned water, letting him released the black smoke and turn them into more Imp, _**"And this fight isn't over yet, kero kero!"**_

He inhaled before his cheeks swelled up to the size of his belly each. He swung his cheeks down at the ground, making Megaman and Lyra Note jump back to dodge. He opened his mouth, releasing a shockwave of a croak that knocked the two into a wall, dismissing their spears and guns.

 **(End theme)**

 **-Oh that god damn frog bastard… Let's fill him with holes!-** Omega-Xis roared.

"Got it. Battle Card Predation! Pinstripe Tommy Gun!"

"A what kind of gun?" Acid Ace raised a brow.

"Battle Card Predation! Sealed Weapon Izayoi!"

Lyra was engulfed in electromagnetic radiation once more before dispersing, revealing a red sword resembling the tip of a pen and a shield resembling a rounded book with her eye in the center. Megaman held up a comically large Tommy Gun.

 **-When did they have those?-** Taurus pondered.

"No i _dea_!" Taurus Flame grunted as he smashed a Shimasen-playing Imp into the ground while incinerating another.

"Probably _made them_ with blank Battle _Cards_!" Acid Ace grunted between slashes of his blades.

"Wait...we can do that?!" Taurus Flame asked, crushing the head of a flute-playing Imp he had grabbed in mid-leap.

" _ **Silence, worms!"**_ Anura roared as he shot his tongue out at the two he was fighting once more.

Lyra Note moved before Megaman with her shield held up. The tongue bounced off it and the blade became segmented as she swung it, turning it into a bladed whip that sliced into the tongue, making Anura screech in pain. Megaman jumped over Lyra Note and fired a barrage of shots at Anura.

 **-Ahahahahahaha! Eat bullets, asshole!-** Omega-Xis cackled before the gun jammed **-...SERIOUSLY!?-**

"You said you wanted it to be accurate, but stronger," Megaman replied.

 **-SO YOU MADE IT JAM AT RANDOM TIMES?!-** Omega-Xis snapped as Anura jumped into the air and slammed into the ceiling once more, making it rain stalagmites once more.

"Can't make it too broken."

 **-DAMN IT! AND SHUT IT, YA OUT OF TUNE HARP!-**

 **-I have no idea what you're talking about…-** the eye on the book shield looked to the side and away from Megaman as the two dodged the falling stone spikes.

 **-That snickering! I know you're snickering!-**

 **-Maybe you hear that from the fleas in your head-**

 **-WHY YOU LITTLE…!-**

"BattleCard Predation! Plus Cannon!" Megaman declared, turning his gun and lower left arm/fist into a white and yellow bulky blaster.

He fired a large magenta shot, hitting Anura in the swollen belly button once more before he could hit the water. Anura emerged from it, hacking and coughing before expelling another large fruit.

"I got it!" Taurus Flame shouted, charging for the fruit before a trio of semi-large yellow Imps popped in front of him, large taiko drums on their backs, "Woah!"

"Now there are ones with giant drums?" Acid Ace pondered.

"Taiko," Lyra Note replied.

" _ **Taiko, ningen,"**_ Anura croaked, _**"Also...beware the ground."**_

"Why didn't I like the sound of that?" Megaman whispered as the yellow Imp dove into the ground.

"They tunnel," Lyra Note groaned, "It's those mole viruses all over again."

 **-Please. We can take those things! What're they gonna do? Hit us with their dru-** Omega-Xis began before one of the yellow Imps erupted from out of the ground, wearing tattered clothes of various shades of yellow while sitting on top of its taiko drum before beating on it, sending out a few large shockwaves that knocked Megaman away.

Lyra Note looked at their faces, seeing a white paper covering them with two eyebrow-like markings, " **ハ** **(ha)**?"

Inside of the VG Hunter, Omega-Xis's eye twitched, believing Lyra Note just laughed **-...GRAH! GEO, WE'RE PLAYING WHACK-A-MOLE!-**

"BattleCard Predation! Jumbo Hammer 3!" Megaman declared as the blaster was replaced with a large dark-brown and dark-blue mallet as big as him.

The yellow Imp gave a cry before it dove back into the ground, joining its brethren as they surrounded Megaman. As Megaman walloped at them repeatedly with his mallet, Taurus Flame reached the fruit and picked it up.

"Over there!" Acid Ace pointed to another cluster.

"Got it!" Taurus Flame nodded as he ran off for the cluster.

" _ **You insufferable…"**_ Anura growled as he fired his tongue once more only for Lyra Note's segmented whip-blade to cut into the tongue once more, making him screech in pain, _**"You insufferable Fudegami, kero!"**_

"Why does it keep calling me that?" Lyra Note whispered, jumping away from an attempted slam from Anura's webbed foot.

"Could it be referring to your gift from the elder?" Lyra pondered as she changed from shield and blade back into guitar.

"The brush?" Lyra Note pondered as she took it out.

A yellow Imp erupted from the ground behind her, preparing to slam her with its taiko drum. She turned around as the brush glowed. She blinked as the world turned sepia and felt more like she was looking at a scroll of paper before her.

"...Nani?" Lyra Note whispered, taking a step back only to trip on a rock, "Whoa!"

Her brush-holding hand moved wildly. A swipe caused a slash of black ink to come out of the brush and overlapped the attacking Imp's Taiko drum. Falling on her back, Lyra Note's hold on the brush faltered and the world changed back. The Imp screeched as its instrument/weapon was sliced down the middle.

"What the?!" Megaman gawked as the Imps in the area tensed up.

" _ **...That belonged to Tachigami...no other Fudegami has that ability….unless…"**_ Anura muttered before giving a low dark chuckle, _**"Gyah gyah gyah! Talk about lucky, kero! Out of all the Fudegami to face, it had to be her!"**_

"Tachigami?" Lyra repeated before Anura screeched in pain as another orb of forest-green light came out of his mouth and into the fruit now held by the roots.

" _ **...If I eliminate you, my master will be pleased…"**_ Anura noted, his visible eye twisting into a sort of dark smile shape, before summoning more of the three kinds of Imps, _**"Minions, deal with the ningen! The sun's Fudegami is mine…"**_

"The sun's what?" Megaman repeated before yelping as a Yellow Imp slammed its Taiko into the ground where he had been before jumping over a Green Imp's flute stab while kicking a Red Imp in the jaw.

"Looks like they're getting desperate," Acid Ace noted, "Sonia, don't worry about us! Just focus on getting that last fruit out of him!"

"Hai!" Lyra Note replied before dodging another attempt to slam her with his inflated cheeks before seeing him about to let out a loud croak, "Oh no you don't! Machine Gun String!"

She aimed Lyra at the toad and the strings of her guitar form shot out and ensnared the toad's lips before he could open his mouth. The cheeks swelled up further before they burst open, causing the toad to let out an agonized wail.

" _ **MY CROAK, KERO!"**_ Anura roared out, _**"Grr...Blasted Wolf Wench!"**_

"I'm not a wolf!" Lyra Note argued before looking at the water he was in, "...Ah mou...Baka…" she facepalmed.

"What?" Lyra asked.

"BattleCard Predation. Thunder Ball 2," Lyra Note deadpanned before forming a sphere of red electricity in her free hand and used Lyra as a bat to send it right into the water.

 _ ***BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRT!***_

" _ **K-K-KERRRRROOOOOO~!"**_ Anura screeched as he was electrocuted badly by the attack.

He shot out of the water, but his swollen belly button was covered by a shell. His head smashed into the ceiling once more, shattering where he hit it and crashed into the water back first, exposing his shell-covered belly button.

"BattleCard Predation! BreakSaber!" Lyra Note called as she rushed at the shell and stabbed with with a magenta blade covered in blue energy rings, shattering the shell and impaling the belly button, making Anura throw up the final piece of fruit, "Bud, now's your chance!"

"Out of my way, demon boys! **Ox Tackle!"** Taurus Flame roared, bursting into flames as he plowed through the imps surrounding him as he charged towards the fruit.

" _ **N-No…"**_ Anura grunted, his body tensing as some sparks came off him before a chunk of the area he broke slammed into his face, _**"GUH!"**_

"And it's a slam dunk!" Taurus Flame roared as he picked up the fruit and threw it right into the last cluster of roots.

Anura screeched for a final time as a final orb of the forest-green light went into the fruit and then into the roots that held it close, _**"Kero, kero?! I-Impossible…!"**_ he struggled to get up, _**"Nyargh! M-My power…! I can't...kero!"**_

"He's on his last legs. Let's end it, guys! Your best Elec BattleCards now!"

"Ahem!"

"...And ladies."

"Arigatou~!" the two girls thanked.

"BattleCard Predation! Strike Edge!" Acid Ace declared as his arms and fists turned into yellow generators that produced blades made of electricity.

"BattleCard Predation! CloudShot 3!" Megaman declared as his buster arm turned into a pink cloud with a black generator emerging from the tip.

"BattleCard Predation! Zero Gun: Thor!" Lyra Note declared as Lyra formed into Bolverk once more for a moment before changing into a chain gun.

"BattleCard Predation! Stealth Laser 2!" Taurus Flame bellowed before his eyes began to spark with electricity.

Acid Ace became a blur, delivering a barrage of slashes to Anura, before jumping out of the way as Taurus Flame fired concentrated streams of electricity from his eyes into Anura. Lyra Note open fired on Anura as Megaman fired blasts of lightning from the generator on the pink cloud covering him limb. The attacks caused an explosion and everyone stood at the ready. The smoke dissipated, revealing Anura's body was completely limp and fried. His body glowed with a dark aura before it dissipated into a black and purple smoke.

"Take that, ya stupid frog!" Omega-Xis laughed, appearing beside Megaman before he sniffed the air and looked at the entrance to the cavern, "?!"

"Alarm. High temperatures detected," Acid informed, appearing beside Acid Ace.

"What?" Acid Ace asked before the black and red sphere emerged from the entrance.

"Ah! It's the sphere again!" Lyra Note gasped.

"You want a Round Two, ya stupid ball?" Omega-Xis snarled.

The sphere ignored them and went into the smoke. The sphere's lines flashed a dark crimson before it spun around like a top. The smoke was pulled into the sphere before the black markings turned the same color as the smoke once it was all absorbed. It pulsed briefly before shooting out through the entrance before anyone could stop it.

"The heck was that?!" Taurus Flame exclaimed.

"We have absolutely no idea," Megaman admitted in concern.

"But we have it to thank for Sonia and the out of Tune Harp looking like they do," Omega-Xis snorted.

"Baka-inu…"

"What does that mean, dammit?!" Omega-Xis snapped before a glow caught his attention, "Hm?"

"What's going on up there?" Taurus Flame pondered, seeing a white light shining from the expanded hole in the ceiling of the cavern.

"Are those...stars?" Megaman pondered, seeing a dark-blue sky in the light with several stars in it.

"Acid?" Acid Ace asked.

"Unable to analyze. An unknown energy is emanating from them and interfering with my scanners," Acid informed.

"It feels...incomplete," Lyra noted, making the others look at her, "Sonia, doesn't it feel like there's some stars missing?"

"Hai...I...I think it is missing some," Lyra Note admitted.

"Odd…" Acid Ace noted.

"...I wonder…" Lyra whispered to herself, "...Maybe...Sonia."

"Hai?"

"It might be a long shot but...try and use the brush."

"The brush?" Lyra Note repeated as she took it out once more.

The brush began to glow with the same light as the light shining from the hole. She looked up at the three stars in the sky before they pulsed with the brush. The sky above turned the sepia tone as a set of lines connected the three stars together with two white lines touching nothing. Lyra Note held up the brush and 'tapped' at the two empty spots. The ink remained in the sky as it changed back to normal. The ink glowed before turning into two stars.

"Did...did you just make stars?" Megaman asked, his eyes widening as he looked at her.

"Ano…" Lyra Note began before the stars began to shine brighter, the shine taking the shape of a monkey playing some strange instrument that blocked its face.

The monkey glowed before swirls of musical notes in a myriad of colors erupted from it. The area rippled as the monkey in the sky took form, becoming a white-furred monkey wearing a pure white cone-like hat with crimson markings on its body. It spun around and landed on a tiptoe, posing like a ballerina as the area settled down, becoming a vast cloudy landscape with mountains emerging around the distance while the sky was a pure white with a crimson sun above. The monkey held a gold pipe-like instrument in its outstretched palm.

"A shō?" Lyra Note pondered.

" _?!"_ the Monkey yelped as it noticed them and sweated heavily before quickly assuming a position with its legs bended down as being used as a seat for its upper half and began to play the instrument, _"Ah...Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good and mother to us all...My gratitude for releasing my body from its imprisonment. I had hidden inside of the fruit of the Guardian Sapling on this piece of Nippon when you made your decision a century ago. Please accept my humble thanks in return for your great kindness."_

"Amaterasu?" Acid Ace repeated.

"Is...Is that monkey talking while playing that weird instrument?" Taurus Flame asked.

"Shh!" Lyra Note hushed as she listened to the monkey.

" _I am Sakigami, one of the triumvirate of flora gods known as the Hanagami. My brethren and I have been entrusted with the brush techniques known collectively as Greensprout,"_ the monkey introduced himself, _"I now grant my humble power to you. Use the power of Bloom wisely, for it can make any plant revive with a simple circle."_

"Bloom?" Lyra Note repeated.

Sakigami glowed before collapsing into a tiny multicolored sphere. Resting in the center of the sphere of light was a symbol resembling a series of strokes with a box on the side.

"咲 (Saki)," Lyra Note read before the sphere floated around her before entering her body.

"Oh not again…" Lyra groaned before blinking a few times, "...Nothing's happened."

Lyra Note's body flashed before the area changed back into the cavern.

"...Uh...what just happened?" Ace blinked, dropping Wave Change.

"D...does not...compute…" Acid twitched a bit.

"Seriously, how was that monkey talking and playing that weird instrument at the same time?" Taurus Flame scratched his head.

"Let's get out of here and see if anything's changed up there," Megaman advised.

* * *

"I don't get it," Ace frowned, looking out as nothing outside had changed in the slightest, "We beat that toad and put those fruits back where they belong, but…"

"Are...Are they stuck like this?" Taurus Flame asked in concern.

"Damn it…" Ace muttered.

"...Bloom…" Lyra Note whispered, looking at her brush before looking at the tree, "...Maybe…"

"Something up, Sonia?" Megaman asked.

"'Use the power of Bloom wisely, for it can make any plant revive with a simple circle,'" Lyra Note repeated as she pulled the brush out.

The world to Lyra Note became sepia once more. Holding up her brush to the tree, she slowly moved it. Once she finished drawing a circle around the upper half of the tree, she put it away. The ink remained as the sepia vanished before flashing green. Almost instantly, the dying tree transformed into a magnificent tree in bloom, cherry blossoms covering it with some falling around it. The tree glowed before releasing a pulse. From the base of it, a wave of foliage erupted from it, washing over the area. The mists were dispersed as if they were never there, exposing magnificent beds of flowers in a myriad of colors and even mighty trees erupting from some of the places the mist had coated. Animals hidden in the mists were released, allowing them to go around and even fly about for the birds and insects. The tainted water was swept away as pure, clear water dispersed its taint from its beds as the people turned to stone was swept up in the green wave of flora, dispersing to reveal them back to normal and startling many. Above, the dark skies gave way to a beautiful sunshine giving a divine sense of serenity to the land.

"...D...does...not...com...pute…" Acid twitched, "How...how…"

"Sakigami...It said that it was a 'floral god,' didn't it?" Ace pondered.

"It did, hai," Lyra Note nodded.

"I...I think I get it...Anura...he said this was a Guardian Sapling," Megaman noted as he looked at the massive cherry blossom tree, "And everything was cured when it bloomed. Do these 'Guardian Saplings' need to be healthy to prevent...whatever that was...from happening?"

" _That is correct."_

"?!" the group tensed as they looked around.

"Is the monkey back?" Omega-Xis asked, appearing beside Megaman.

A soft giggle echoed, _"Well, I'm not a monkey. I do apologize if you thought Sakigami had returned."_

Lyra Note looked at the tree and gasped, "It's you…"

Taurus Flame looked and his eyes turned into hearts, "Whoa~!"

Sitting on one of the branches was the voluptuous woman in pink. She slid off the high branch she was on...and floated down to them, giving a small spin in the process. Megaman's face lit up in a blush as Taurus Flame nearly fell over with pink steam coming from the vents on his form, both having seen the peach cutout on her behind.

"And who might you be, madam?" Ace asked.

The woman giggled as she moved a hand over her lips, a smile in her eyes, _"I am Mokusei Konohanasakuya-hime, but I enjoy being called 'Sakuya' for short."_ she turned to Lyra Note, _"Oh Amaterasu. Goddess of the Sun that shines upon us all and mother to all life. My joy blossomed upon feeling one of my Guardian Saplings being restored upon the mainland through your power given by Sakigami."_

" _Your_ Guardian Saplings?" Omega-Xis raised a brow, "You mean the tree?"

" _Why yes, my interesting Hoshi no Ryuu,"_ Sakuya replied.

"What now?" Omega-Xis raised a brow.

"Star Dragon," Lyra Note translated.

"...Okay, you I like so far," Omega-Xis grinned, puffing his chest up and earning a giggle from Sakuya.

" _Arigatou,"_ Sakuya thanked, making Lyra Note's eyes widen, _"The Guardian Saplings connect to the tree where I reside in back in Kamiki Village, connecting me to all over the land."_ she looked back at Lyra Note, _"I am glad my message was able to reach you, my old friend."_

"Message? …!" Lyra Note's eyes widened, "The scenery restored and you pointed at the cave…"

" _I was barely able to send it through the Guardian Sapling,"_ Sakuya nodded before looking over at Acid, who was twitching on the ground and seemed to be out of it, _"Oh my...Is he well?"_

"Not...com...pute...not...com...pute…" Acid sputtered.

"He's had a long day filled with talking toads, toads turning into imps, magic fruit apparently, a talking reality-altering monkey, and now a floating young woman," Ace sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

" _Ah...A non-believer in the Gods,"_ Sakuya nodded, _"He is not the first, nor will he be the last."_

"Um...Ms. Sakuya?" Megaman spoke up, earning the woman's attention, "Are there...more of these Guardian Saplings out there?"

" _Hai,"_ Sakuya nodded as she floated over to the tree, placing a hand on the trunk, _"Scattered all over the land are my Guardian Saplings. Despite the millenia they have existed, none of them have been harmed by mortal hands directly. However...It has only been in the recent month or so that my Guardian Saplings have begun to be suppressed, causing them to wither and begin to die."_ she turned around and more pink steam erupted from Taurus Flame and a heavy blush emanate from Megaman as the sudden turn caused her impressive bosom to bounce and jiggle enticingly almost like the fruit the cutout in her outfit's chest area imitated, _"But now that Bloom has been returned to you by Sakigami, I feel an entire forest of hope blossom within me, Amaterasu."_

"That name again…" Lyra Note whispered.

" _...Is...something the matter?"_ Sakuya asked.

"Um, well...My name is Sonia," Lyra Note replied.

" _Sonia? …"_ Sakuya giggled, _"Ah. Soka...I should have remembered your choice a century ago. Though, in honesty…"_ she cupped Lyra Note's cheek and gave her a smile, _"You look more like a 'Misora' to me as this."_

"Misora?" Lyra Note repeated as Sakuya floated back to the tree.

" _Please help restore the Guardian Saplings scattered across the land of Nippon,"_ Sakuya pleaded as she phased into the tree, _"May the fresh scent of flowers protect you always!"_

"...Misora…" Lyra Note whispered to herself.

* * *

"...What?" Vulpecula frowned as a few Imps backed away from her, "Anura lost? How could that stupid toad have lost?!"

" **$ ** &$!#%#..."** a Green Imp imitated throwing something at a Red Imp, who acted like it was electrocuted.

"...Of course he'd be electrocuted…" Vulpecula sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "I told him staying in the water was a bad idea, but no! He had to insist on it, thinking no one could beat him in the water! Ugh...and I thought AM-Ians and humans were stupid...Ugh...okay. Who killed him?"

" **! $ %#% (!"**

"?!...Omega-Xis...and the Sun Goddess?" Vulpecula repeated, "...Please leave…"

The Imps looked at one another before nodding. They quickly left, letting Vulpecula be alone.

"...My darling...with that damnable goddess…?" Vulpecula whispered, "...No...no no. She must be using him...of course...and they say demons are manipulative…" the sphere floated in, "Ah...You came back with what Anura was given? Good, good. Go deliver it to the master."

The sphere gave a 'nod' as it floated away.

"Now...what to do…?" Vulpecula pondered, tapping her cheek in thought as her tails swayed a bit, "Hmm…" she looked at a sphere nearby chained by shadows, "...Perhaps destroying a Guardian Sapling will be good retribution..." within the orb, a pure white mouse with crimson markings tried to break free, "...especially done by the hands of a protector of them."

* * *

 **GT: Well this was something.**

 **SZ: Indeed. Been a long while, but we're finally getting this story back on track.**

 **GT: Very true. With a big scary toad and coming into contact with a monkey and a tree spirit. ...How does Sakigami speak when playing his instrument anyway?**

 **SZ:...Good question.**

 **GT: Ah well. For now, Readers we hope you enjoyed the story. So please Read and Review.**

 **SZ: And we shall see you all next time. Ja ne.**


	5. Painting 5

_GT: Yeesh...They made that Orochi fight_ hard _in Okami...but so worth it to get the first Glaive of the game. *laughs* But I can't help but crack up that you can_ whizz _on enemies to get Demon Fangs!_

 _SZ: Oh yeah...you can do that. You can also...know what? I'll let him find that out for himself._

 _GT: Eh?_

 _SZ: You'll see once ya find the dojo again and get more moves._

 _GT: Okay. In the meantime, I hope everyone's feeling great! I have not. Been sick with the flu for a week._

 _SZ: But he's feeling better, and ready to write once more!_

 _GT: Eeyup. Especially since I now have cable and internet once more as well. Now in the meantime, we own no one but OCs! Let's a go! *pulls out a Yellow Imp and ties it to the curtains before fleeing*_

 _SZ: Eh?_

 _Imp: !#!?_

 _Amaterasu: *barks while running into the room*_

 _SZ: Oh geez! *runs for it*_

 _Imp: *screams as Amaterasu pounced it*_

* * *

"This is...an interesting report," Dr. Goodall admitted as she looked up from the report before her and then at the grown man and three teens before her, "Mists that cause petrification, a giant toad that could turn smaller toads into the creatures you encountered in the mall, and even actuas gods. You've had quite a busy day, haven't you?"

=Des….not….com...ppute….= Acid sputtered

"That answer your question?" Ace deadpanned a bit.

"Oh, poor Acidna...He may have too much logic and not enough faith in his programming," Goodall shook her head, "I'll have to take care of him for tonight, but in the meantime…" she typed something and, after a few moments, an officer entered carrying a dead plant in a pot and placed it on her desk, "Thank you." the guard nodded before walking out, "Sonia, could you demonstrate this new ability of yours? This 'Bloom' ability?"

"H-hai," Sonia nodded, pulling out her brush as she 'drew' a circle around the dead plant before, within a second, the plant came back to life, flowers blooming about it.

"Oh, how fascinating!" Goodall smiled, "The scanners didn't even pick up a smidge of electromagnetic radiation from you nor from the plant that entire time! How did you do that?"

"Ano...I'm not sure exactly…" Sonia replied as she looked at her brush, "Everytime I use this, the world around me turns sepia and...well it's almost like a canvas in a way."

"...And Bloom?"

"I just 'draw' a circle around the dead plant and it comes back to life."

"Interesting. Perhaps we can experiment a bit then," Goodall nodded as she typed something and an officer came in with a few pots of dirt and a packet of different seeds before leaving them behind while leaving, "Try using Bloom again."

"...Okay," Sonia nodded as she planted the seeds before she 'drew' another circle, one big enough for all the pots before plants grew out of them, "Oh!"

"So it works even on plants that haven't fully matured yet…" Goodall noted before pulling one plant, revealing it to be a fully grown carrot, "And seems to work on vegetables as well. Interesting. Bud, if you'd please try it?"

"Uh, sure," a bit of a bulky teen in a brown and yellow shirt with an orange cutlery design on the chest and brown baggy shorts replied as he walked over and accepted the offered carrot before eating it, "...Huh. This is better than the carrots I normally eat at home."

"And you say a monkey called Sakigami gave you this ability?" Goodall looked at Sonia.

"Hai."

=He said he was part of a triumvirate known as the Hanagami= Lyra added.

"Do you think you can translate what it means?" Ace asked.

"I feel that 'Hanagami' translates to 'Flower God,'" Sonia replied, "And 'Sakigami' means 'Bloom God.'"

=There was also that one name that frog kept calling us…= Lyra spoke up =Fudegami=

=Flu day gummy?=

=Baka-inu=

=OI!=

"It means 'Brush God,'" Sonia translated, "Kinda makes sense since, well…" she held up her brush, "The brush."

"...I see," Goodall noted, "...Where exactly did you get that brush?"

"From a store in the mall," Sonia explained, "Geo-kun and I both received a small box from the owner and in mine was this brush."

"What about you? Did you check it yet?" Goodall asked, looking at Geo.

"Um, well, no," Geo admitted, "It's still on my desk back home."

"Ahh...I suggest you check it just in case then," Goodall informed before an officer ran in, panting.

"Dr. Goodall! We...we just found...a lab…" the officer informed.

"A lab? Well, why didn't you call?"

"Security...system...fried the...the VG Hunter…" the officer held up his arm, revealing a broken, sparking VG Hunter on it, "Had to...run all...the way here…"

"...What exactly happened?" Ace ordered, a serious expression on his face.

"We...we're not...not sure…" the officer panted, "We were...we were…"

' _He's really exhausted…'_ Sonia thought before looking at her brush, _'...'_ she held up her brush and the sepia sight returned to her before she drew a circle around the man, _'Maybe this can work?'_

She put her brush away and the circle flashed green. For a moment, the man glowed green before he sprung up.

"We were investigating reports of a disturbance in the area and discovered something was producing a large abundance of Noise. We were able to triangulate the location to a park and found a hidden entrance buried beneath a patch of grass near the center of the park near the lake. The Noise is emanating from an underground laboratory, but attempting to breach the doors resulted in the doors releasing an EMP that was able to fry the VG Hunters we had on hand before it started shooting lasers at our feet until we left sight of the doors," the soldier informed with a salute.

"I see," Ace noted, "Geo, Sonia, you two go check it out. Bud, you're on standby until you're needed."

"Yes, sir," Bud nodded.

* * *

"It's hard to imagine something being underneath a peaceful park," Sonia noted as she and Geo entered a fairly large park, the redhead wearing a white parka over a green shirt and blue jeans, the hood of the parka hiding her hair while sunglasses kept her eyes hidden.

"Yeah. It is something I think I've heard of only in movies," Geo agreed, wearing a black jacket over a red shirt and black shorts with a bulky hat on his head hiding his hair.

=Maybe there's some freaky mutant Wave virus down there or something= Omega-Xis said =...Oh, I'm gonna go buckwild on their asses!=

=Oh come now. It could just be an advanced security system= Lyra scoffed.

"Hold it!" an officer called and the two stopped, "There is an ongoing investigation at this moment in time. Civilians are being asked to stay away from the area."

"We're here on orders from Ace," Geo informed as he and Sonia showed their VG Hunters to the man.

"Ah! Carry on, then. We were informed you'd arrive as quick as you could once we got the backups from HQ's branch here," the officer nodded.

"We won't be long...hopefully," Geo replied, whispering that last part to himself as the two continued on.

=Heh. Sometimes it pays to be buddies with a cop= Omega-Xis grinned.

=Baka-inu…=

=Seriously, what does that even mean?!=

=...Want to know? Fine. It means 'stupid dog'=

=Oh…...HEY WAIT A MINUTE!=

"Cut it out, Mega. We're here," Geo informed as the two stopped before a square-shaped opening in the ground, exposing a flight of stairs heading down, "...Feel anything abnormal, Sonia?"

"Iie," Sonia shook her head, "Lyra?"

=I'm not sensing anyth...wait. There's some Noise down these stairs=

"...Better transform just in case."

"Hai."

Minutes later, the two were making their way down the stairs.

"I'm relieved that Dr. Goodall made a Noise filter for us," Lyra noted.

"Hai. Demo...It doesn't have all the neat features the AceJoker Program does," Lyra Note admitted as she looked over at Megaman.

"While the filter part's still working, but it hasn't really be working with the Noise Change feature or Finalize since we fought the Crimson Dragon," Megaman explained.

"Oh…"

"Yeah. Still, we better be careful. Who knows what else is down here," Megaman advised.

"Hai!" Lyra Note nodded.

Eventually, the stairs gave way to a stone path. Walking down it, they soon came upon two metal doors sealed up tightly. Lyra Note was about to reach for the door before Megaman stopped her.

"Not yet. There's still that EMP wave trap," Megaman stated before holding his chin in thought, "We need to figure out how to get around it…"

"...Eh?" Lyra Note pondered as she spotted something, "A doggy door?"

"...Hey b-"

=Don't you even finish that sentence!= Omega-Xis snapped at Lyra.

"Why is there a dog door here?" Megaman pondered as he knelt down to it before looking at his Buster Arm, "...Hmm…" he put his arm through the dog door, "Wizard On."

"Gah!" Omega-Xis hit his head on the tiny tunnel on the other side.

"Hurry and open it from the inside, Omega-Xis," Lyra giggled.

"Aw screw you, stupid out-of-tune harp…" Omega-Xis grumbled as he started crawling down the tunnel, "Gah...so dusty in here…"

Megaman pulled his arm out of the tunnel and a screen appeared before him, showing a feed of what Omega-Xis was seeing, "What do you see?"

"Dust. Lots and lots of dust…" Omega-Xis muttered, "Wait...I think I see something."

"What is it?"

"Dunno, but there's a lot of red lights aiming right at….me….oh shit! It's a turret."

 ***KACHINK***

"OH SHIT! IT'S A TURRET!"

"Should we help him?" Lyra Note whispered, hearing the sounds of laser fire an Omega-Xis screaming behind the doors.

"No, no, no. Give him a moment," Lyra replied, an amused look on her lips.

=This is Beta-7 all over again!= Omega-Xis freaked =EEYOW!=

"Hit you on the tip of the tail?"

=It hit me on the goddamn tail! It's just like Beta-7! That's it! Come 'ere, you stupid turret! AREA EATER!=

 ***SLASH! BOOM!***

=HA! Suck it!=

"I think Omega needs therapy…" Lyra Note sweatdropped.

"An Insane Asylum is what he needs…" Lyra muttered.

=Okay, I took that down and now I'm in a big lab= Omega-Xis noted as the screen showed a large cavern =A lot of it looks like it hasn't been touched in years=

"Try looking for a switch or something to open the door and disable the security outside of it," Megaman instructed.

=Yeah, yeah. Yeesh, you sound like Cygnus back on Beta-7…= Omega-Xis grumbled =Least you're not clinging to me like my Ex…=

"Your what?"

=NOTHING! YOU! HEARD! NOTHING!=

"Ahh!" Megaman and Lyra Note yelped at the exclamation.

=Okay, I think I found it= Omega-Xis noted after a few moments.

The screen showed the various computers on different levels turning on as the lights above flickered on. The doors hissed before sliding open, letting the two teens enter. Now that they had a better view than just Omega-Xis', the lab was big with the support columns all sporting dense springs at the bases and tops while vines with flowers on them decorated them. A natural waterfall cut the lab in two, a set of wood-like stone bridges acting as a way of crossing the river made by the waterfall. Several modems, despite their age, hummed quietly where they were on shelves in the walls. Panels in the floor were sliding shut and the two barely made out turrets in the holes before they sealed shut. There were various antiques and books of various sizes perfectly preserved in sealed shelves along the walls and in sealed bookcases screwed into the floor. What was interesting was that there wasn't a single monitor in the laboratory despite there being modems.

"What kind of lab is this?" Megaman pondered.

"Looks like it doubled as a home-away-from-home," Omega-Xis noted from the second floor where he was floating in a kitchen with the fridge, freezer, and shelves empty before looking over at a king-sized bed in a room after the kitchen.

"Demo...question is, who lives here exactly?" Lyra Note pondered as she looked around.

"Or lived here. There's a layer of dust on everything that's not sealed tight," Lyra noted.

"Lyra does have a p…" Megaman paused as he looked in one of the cases, "Sakigami!"

"The monkey?" Omega-Xis asked as he flew over as Lyra Note ran over.

"In here!" Megaman pointed at the case.

"Huh?" Lyra Note looked at the case to see a statue of Sakigami inside of it between a monkey playing cymbals and a monkey playing a flute, all three pure white and decorated in scarlet detailing, "Oh! It is Sakigami!"

"What's with the squiggles?" Omega-Xis pondered, pointing at the base the trio were on.

"Um…What are you talking about? It says 'The Hanagami of Greensprout: Sakigami of Bloom, Hasugami of Water Lily, and Tsutagami of Vine,'" Sonia read.

"You got all that from squiggles?" Omega-Xis asked.

"It's in Japanese."

"That dead language you and the Out-Of-Tune Harp speak in?"

"Baka-Inu…"

"I will gut you! I mean it!" Omega-Xis growled, flexing his claws, "And I'll make it look like an accident!"

Lyra Note looked around the case. The Hanagami were not alone. Several other statues were in the case with them. One resembled a white mouse on top of a broadsword, another a white horse with a fan on its back, a third was a white cat on a wall while a fourth was a white rabbit with a wooden mallet that was longer on one end in its paws. There was a white boar on an orange ball...fleeing from piglets with lit sticks in their mouths, a rooster-like phoenix with a large pipe in its beak, a large ox with a red net on its neck, and a drunken white sheep with a red cask of something on its back. There was a pure white penguin sliding down a scroll on its belly and a whale bouncing two smaller fish on its waterspout. There was even a white dragon with its tail stuck in a scroll carrying four yellow orbs in its claws and a menacing white tiger with a huge archer's bow on its back with a white snake stuck in an orb filled with water.

"'Yomigami of Rejuvenation.' 'Tatsugami of Power Slash.' 'Bakugami of Cherry Bomb.' 'Yumigami of Crescent.' 'Nuregami of Waterspout.' 'Kazegami of Maelstrom.' 'Moegami of Inferno.' 'Kasugami of Veil of Mist.' 'Kabegami of Catwalk.' 'Gekigami of Thunderstorm.' 'Michigami of Guidance.' 'Kyokugami of Magnetism.' 'Itegami of Blizzard,'" Lyra Note read the base of each statue before noticing an empty spot, "...There's one missing."

"Huh?" Megaman blinked at that.

"I don't know why, but I feel like...there's one missing from this set," Lyra Note answered, "Like...a dog...Iie. A Wolf."

"A...A wolf?" Omega-Xis repeated, "You mean that Shiranui the old geezer talked about from the story of that giant snake?"

"Hai...and Iie…" Lyra Note answered, "...Amaterasu…"

=Password accepted= the three jumped as Lyra Note held Lyra closer.

A panel opened before exposing a metal container shaped like a thermos. It rattled before popping open, releasing a forest-green burst of EM radiation. It dispersed exposed a tiny EM-being...no, literally, it was tiny. At exactly one inch in height, the figure was made of the forest-green EM waves covered in a dark-blue/grey armor resembling a beetle.

"...Uh…what?" Omega-Xis blinked.

The one-inch beetle yawned as he stretched. Smacking the lips beneath the rhinoceros beetle-themed helmet, the figure opened a pair of black eyes a bit.

"Ohayo gozaimasu…" the beetle mumbled, rubbing one of the two eyes before noticing Megaman, "...Yo."

"...Uh…hi?" Megaman greeted in confusion.

"?! Oi...Why the hell do you have my frequency?" Omega-Xis demanded.

"What?" Megaman blinked.

"Whoa! Back! Back, I say, you big baka-ryuu! I'll cut you with Denpamaru!" the beetle yelped, pulling out a needle-shaped blade on his waist and pointing it at Omega-Xis.

"...I hate him. Instantly hate him…" Omega-Xis' eye twitched.

"The feeling's the same here, Baka-ryuu!" the beetle declared, bouncing on the top of the thermos-like device.

"The only way that someone could have the same frequency as an FM-Ian or AM-Ian is either cloning like what Dealer did or…" Lyra began before her eyes widened and slowly looked at Omega-Xis.

"Shut. Up. Now," Omega-Xis growled, "That ain't what happened. Probably a damn clone. It's smashing time!"

"Bring it on, you baka-ryuu! The great Issun isn't afraid of...of…" the beetle began before noticing Lyra Note as hearts appeared above him as his EM waves turned pink, " _Konnichiwa~, Tenshi!_ "

"N-nani?" Lyra Note blinked.

"Boku wa Issun!" Issun declared as he bounced from the thermos, off Omega-Xis's head, and landed on her shoulder, "What beauty~! I have to paint someone as beauty personified as you are!"

"Paint?" Lyra Note repeated.

Issun reaching into his armor before pulling out a green tube of paper. Unrolling it, he tossed it into the air and it began to float before him. Sheathing his sword, he pulled it scabbard and all to expose the end of the scabbard was a brush. His arm became a blur and, after several seconds, put it back on his waist and showed the unrolled paper to reveal a painting of Lyra Note, leaning against a tree while strumming Lyra Note. Pulling out a gold mallet, he tapped it on the paper and it grew until it was the size of Lyra Note, the girl barely grabbing it as it lost its fight against gravity.

"A wonderful sumi-e for a wonderful beauty such as yourself!" Issun flirted, putting the mallet away.

"...Wow. It...it's really good," Lyra Note gasped, "...Demo…"

"Why's her chest particularly big…?" Lyra asked with a slight frown.

"Hey, hey, hey! I just paint how life reflects through the brush!" Issun replied, now sweating a bit before jumping from Lyra Note's shoulder, off Omega-Xis' head, and onto the top of Megaman's visor.

"...He's a lousy little pervert," Omega-Xis muttered.

"I am the great Issun, baka-ryuu!" Issun declared, pointing his blade at Omega-Xis once more.

"I will crush you like the bug you are!"

"I will jump into your gut and make you leak whatever you drink!"

"I will literally grind you into dust!"

"I will slice you into sashimi!"

"I WILL AREA ERASE YOU FROM EXISTENCE!"

"I WILL GO UP YOUR NOSE AND CUT WHAT YOU USE FOR A BRAIN UP!"

"Oh kami above there's two of him now…" Lyra groaned.

"CAN IT, OUT-OF-TUNE HARP!"

"Oi! Don't go insulting the tenshi!"

"I can insult whoever I damn well please!"

"Wizard Off," Megaman deadpanned.

=Aw come on!=

"Ano...Who are you exactly?" Lyra Note asked.

"Hm? Ah. I thought I already introduced myself," Issun noted, "Boku wa Issun." he bowed, "Yoroshiku."

"You know the dead language?" Megaman pondered.

"Dead la...How long have I been sealed up?!" Issun exclaimed, the Em waves turning yellow in surprise, "Wait...what year is this?!"

"22XX," the teens replied.

"One hundred and fifty years?!" Issun jumped almost to the ceiling in shock before landing on hi thermos container, "I thought I was asleep for _fifty_!"

"...Eh?" Megaman and Lyra Note blinked at that.

"...Wait. Please tell me I'm not old! I'm too pretty to be old!" Issun's radiation turned water-blue in color.

"Well...not really, no," Lyra Note replied.

"Phew!" the blue turned sky-blue, "What a relief!"

"His radiation changes color to reflect his emotions…" Lyra noted, "Interesting."

"So you're over a hundred and fifty years old?" Megaman pondered, "Wait...does that mean you're an FM-Ian or AM-Ian?"

"I have no idea what those are," Issun replied, his radiation back to its normal coloration, "I was made in this lab one hundred and sixty years ago if that helps."

"A hundred and sixty years ago?!" the two gawked.

"Does everyone in the future repeat everything these days?" Issun snarked.

"G...gomen. Just...in shock is all," Lyra Note replied.

"Making EM beings is considered new technology," Megaman admitted.

"So baka-ryuu's a baby?"

=I WILL END YOU!=

"No, no, no. It's...a bit of a story," Megaman admitted.

"Ah, a tale, eh? Well, if it's interesting enough, I'll be glad to paint works of it," Issun noted, "Ah! Matte! I introduced myself, but who are you two?"

"Oh...well...I'm Geo Stellar, but as this…" Megaman paused as he motioned to his outfit, "I go by Megaman."

"...You look more like a Rockman to me. No no….Shooting Star Rockman," Issun commented before looking at Lyra Note, "And you are, tenshi-sama?"

"Watashi Strumm Sonia. But I go by Lyra Note when I'm fused with Lyra," Lyra Note introduced.

"Subarashi!" Issun beamed, his denpa a bright gold now.

* * *

"So this little guy was in here along with all this?" Ace pondered.

"Hey, hey, hey! Take your shoes off while you're in here! We have the shoe cubby with slippers there by the entrance for a reason!" Issun shouted, bouncing angrily as evident by the red radiation coming off him.

"There was a cubby out there?" Ace raised a brow.

"Right there by the door!" Issun pointed his sword over at a metal cubby that indeed had slippers in them, "Haven't you...no, wait...this was something that vanished when Japanese became a dead language." he facepalmed, "It's considered proper etiquette to not wear shoes indoors because that's just welcoming demons in here!"

"Ahh…." Ace nodded in understanding before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

"Now I need to go get a bucket and mop up where you stepped with water mixed with purified salt…" Issun grumbled, "FILSS!"

=Yes, Issun?= a woman's voice came from the ceiling.

"Purification treatment where that guy was walking about with his shoes on please!"

=Beginning treatment=

A panel on a wall slid down and a robot on plastic wheels with a mop in its hands rolled out with a mop bucket filled with water following it.

"What the…?"

"This place gets dirty a lot, so FILSS has to do it for us… er... me," Issun explained, "She's been the family's handy AI for two centuries as of now! Right, FILSS?"

=Correct=

"Your family, Issy?" Dr. Goodall asked, having already been wearing slippers.

"Yeah! I was made by Sakurai Skye and so was FILSS," Issun explained, "Er...I guess it's Skye Sakurai since you don't completely know Japanese."

"? Skye Sakurai? The man said to have a million plans in his mind the moment he did a single action?" Goodall asked, "One of the key developers of the Metastability Program for Network Navigators?"

"Who else?" Issun grinned.

"I'm quite amazed. He was actually able to create you when EM technology was barely even a concept," Goodall noted, "It will be interesting to get to know you, Issy."

"Well thanks, Granny Goodall!" Issun bounced happily, "Anything you wanna know, just ask away!"

"Ano...who's Skye Sakurai?" Sonia asked.

"He's the guy who made me!" Issun explained before pulling out another rolled up paper, unfurled it, and quickly painted on it, "And…" he pulled out his mallet and bopped it, making the paper enlarge itself to show a lifesize portrait of a man with bits of sunkissed blonde mixed into long silver hair, wearing a lab coat, a floral-printed shirt, and brown slacks with a cane in hand, "This is how he looked when he made me! I was told he was quite the looker when he was younger. I didn't really know him long, just a few months, before he put me in stasis until someone said the password."

"...Amaterasu…" Sonia whispered in realization.

"Yep! The Sun Goddess herself!" Issun beamed as he pulled out another rolled up paper and enlarged it with his mallet, depicting a Sumi-e of a pure white wolf with scarlet markings and a mirror floating above its back, ignited in flames.

=Wait a second...That guy looks like an old fart version of the punk who nicked some of my radiation from that Clockman Incident!= Omega-Xis snapped.

"The what incident?"

"Let's just say it involves time travel…" Geo sighed.

"What?! You never mess with time! EVER!" Issun snapped, "Why would this Timeman mess with time?! Why?!"

"Harem…" Lyra deadpanned.

"..."

"...Issun?"

Issun fell over, pink smoke coming off his head with hearts as his radiation turned bright pink.

=Perverted little gnat=

"Little gnat that can kick your ass…"

=WHAT WAS THAT?!=

"Seems that Issy's been cooped up for longer than one should be."

"Damn straight I have!" Issun snapped, "Please tell me the women out there are as hot as Misora-tenshi-sama!"

"Ano...it's Sonia."

"A monkey, a peach, and now a bug all call you 'Misora,'" Omega-Xis snickered, "Maye you should keep that as a fake name when you hide from the paparazzi."

"That's….not a bad idea actually…." Lyra admitted.

"Wow. The baka-ryuu had a good idea for once since I met him!" Issun exclaimed.

"I will eat you!" Omega-Xis growled.

"I don't swing that way, bub!" Issun declared.

"Why you little…!"

"Considering you already know these four, they could be your tour guide through the city. You've missed much in the last century and a half," Goodall offered.

"That sounds good to me, Granny Goodall!" Issun beamed as he jumped onto Sonia's shoulder, "Onward, Tenshi-sama!"

"So you don't mind them being here without you?" Geo asked.

"Nah. FILSS has blueprints for everything here if they want to take something apart," Issun shrugged, "You just gotta be nice ta her."

"Ahh….noted."

* * *

"Well what should we start with?" Sonia pondered, once more having her hood up and sunglasses on.

"S-Sugei~! This is the outside? It's huge~!" Issun awed, "I've only been in the lab!"

=It's not that impressive…= Omega-Xis muttered.

"Quiet you!"

"Wait, you've only been down there?" Geo asked in his hat and sunglasses.

"Yep! So being out here's really, well...I can't even begin to describe! Look at all this nature around us!" Issun beamed, bouncing happily on Sonia's shoulder, "It's amazing~! Oh! How big are the cities now?!"

"Well, we're in a park in the center of it," Geo replied.

"This is just a _park_?!" Issun fell off Sonia's shoulder in shock before getting back up, "Sugei~! I'm so glad that nature is still in balance in Nihon!"

"Nihon?"

"Oh! That's one of the older names for this country. It's also gone by Japan and Nippon," Issun explained, "Yeesh. Has the _history_ been lost, too?! Well, it's a good thing that PILSS has a backup of the entire country's history in her databanks."

"Entire history?!"

"It was said that the guy who made me and PILSS, Skye Sakurai, would make a million plans the moment he made even a single movement. He probably has hidden labs all over the globe with copies of the entire history of the places the other labs are," Issun explained.

"...Sonia?" Geo spoke.

"Hai?"

"I think we may need to look for these labs when we can…" Geo whispered.

=What?! Oh come on! I was hoping you guys would look for more of that game data!=

"Game data?" Issun repeated.

"A friend of Geo-kun's, Dr. Boreal, is looking for old game data to restore them," Geo explained.

"Oh...well it might not be much, but the lab's got a bit of that 'game data' in the computers," Issun replied.

=WHAT KINDS?!= Omega-Xis demanded in a semi-excited tone.

"I'm not telling you, mutt."

=HATE YOU!=

=...Issun, can you be a dear and please tell us?= Lyra asked.

"Gladely!" Issun beamed.

=You perverted bug…=

"Quiet, baka-inu, the adults are talking," Lyra scolded as she formed.

=BITE ME!=

"Well, there's a neat RPG involving a human and digital monsters, a fun two-player involving dragons and popping bubbles, and an entire collection of games involving a chubby red plumber fighting a dragon-turtle for a princess," Issun explained.

=NO FIGHTING GAME?!= Omega-Xis snapped =What a…!=

"There's also this crossover fighting game between four series, including this...Blazing blue game, and a show focusing on female hunters fighting against demonic creatures. I didn't really play it much, but I did like the art gallery in it!"

=...Geo, when we get back to the lab, get that game data!= Omega-Xis declared.

"After Issun's done looking around the city," Geo replied.

"I like ya, Subaru-san!" Issun beamed.

"Subaru?"

"Ya look like a 'Subaru' ta me!"

"Oh…"

"Yeah. I got a appropriate name for the mutt, but he has to earn it. And guess what? That ain't happening anytime soon."

=I WILL END YOU!=

"Try it and I'll go up your nose and turn what you use for a brain into ribbons!" Issun declared.

=Bring it shrimp!=

"SHRIMP?!"

"Geo-kun, please mute him," Sonia sweatdropped.

=Geo, don't you d-!=

"Oh, that's a neat feature!" Issun beamed, "So what's next on the list of things I can see in this place?"

"...Ano…" Sonia pondered for a moment, "...Museum?"

"It would help him catch up to speed on what's happened during his slumber," Lyra added.

"Oh! I can't wait to see the works of art they've got there! Lead on!" Issun cheered as he jumped onto Sonia's shoulder.

* * *

"...Oh sweet Fudegami…" Issun whispered in awe as he looked around the museum, "So...much...history...so...much...ART!"

"Shh!"

"!" Issun flinched before bowing repeatedly, his aura blue, and whispered, "Gomen nassai."

"It's fine. Just...please stay quiet while we're here," Sonia advised.

"Okay," Issun nodded.

"And don't jump on any of the exhibits," Lyra added, "They're very sensitive about these things being touched."

"You got it. I'd get pretty mad if people put their feet all over things I've painted," Issun nodded, "Still, look at it all! It's so amazing! I've only seen the art stored in the lab and what I've made before I was put into stasis. Seeing so much art...it's subarashi!"

"Well glad you like it," Geo nodded, "So what exhibit do you want to check out first?"

"All of them!"

"...Why don't we check out one of them first?" Sonia muttered as she looked around, "Ano...oh. Maybe the Renaissance section? They have copies of all the works from then in it."

"Then let's go….!" Issun exclaimed quietly.

* * *

"So a lot of these buildings are made of EM Waves?" Issun asked.

"The tallest ones, yeah," Geo replied, "They're meant for businesses."

"Well, what happens if you're in those places when something causes the EM Waves to break?" Issun asked, "Aren't there safety measures in place for if that happens? Aren't there security measures in case anyone attempts to disrupt those EM Waves?"

"...You like to plan ahead a lot, do you?"

"See a need, fill a need. That's what my creator always used to say!" Issun beamed, "And I've gotta say I think I know a need I can fill!"

"How so?"

"Well, why not travel the country and tell them the stories of the past?" Issun asked before pulling out a roll of paper and began to paint on it, "I can tell them and show the stories with my sumi-e paintings!" once he was done, he pulled his mallet out and tapped the painting, enlarging it to show an ink painting of him travelling, "See?"

"Huh...cool," Geo noted, "This is pretty good."

"Thanks. I am a master artist afterall," Issun beamed, pride evident in his voice.

=Just don't get a swelled head…=

"Like you?" Issun snickered before yelping as a drop of rain hit his head, "Ah! I've been hit! Help!" he jumped into Sonia's hood, "Water Attribute attacking! Misora-Tenshi-Sama, tatsukete~!"

"It's not an attack, Issun," Geo noted, "It's just rain."

"Oh…" Issun poked out from under Sonia's chin, "...I knew that."

=Would you mind getting out of her shirt now?= Omega-Xis snorted.

"Aw man~What a way to rain on my parade," Issun whined as he jumped out and landed on Geo's shoulder once they were under some cover, "Literal rain! Makes me wish I had the kind of power a Fudegami could and use Sunrise."

"Sunrise?"

"It's where you use a brush and paint a _big_ circle in the sky," Issun explained.

"Really?" Sonia pondered as she looked at the cloud-filled sky while taking her brush out, "So...it's like Sakigami's Bloom, but you paint it in the sky and not on plants?"

"Huh? I guess so," Issun shrugged, "I haven't seen Sakigami's Bloom technique."

The brush glowed faintly as Sonia watched the sky become sepia tone. Holding up the brush, she made a circle in the sky before putting the brush away. The ink flashed red before a kanji appeared in the sky briefly. It resembled two blocks-one standing straight up and one on its side with what looked like a two-toned musical note without the bumps on the bottom legs-above four small dashes. Sonia swore she heard a rooster crowing when it briefly flashed in the air.

" **照** **(Shou - 'To Shine')** ," Sonia whispered before the rain stopped and the clouds vanished almost instantly, letting the sun shine once more.

"N-n-n-n-NANI?!" Issun exclaimed, jumping twice Geo's height into the air in shock, "Th-That was it! That was Sunrise! But...but how!? Only Amaterasu can use that! ...Unless..."

"...Unless what?" Sonia repeated.

"...Unless you're the reincarnation of Amaterasu herself!" Issun exclaimed, pointing at Sonia.

"Eh?!"

"A-Are you kidding me, Issun?" Geo asked.

"No way I'd kid about that!" Issun replied, "Sunset is a power that only Amaterasu was said to have! So that means Misora-Tenshi-sama's Amaterasu reborn!"

"B...But..how?!" Sonia exclaimed, "I can't be the reincarnation of a goddess! I'm just a normal girl that was hit by some strange light that was being held by some dark sphere!"

"Gods are capable of the impossible and redefine what is possible," Issun replied, "It could be that when you reincarnated, you separate yourself from your powers. It makes sense that sooner or later you'd get them back!"

=Seems he's stuck on you being this Ammy whatever gal= Omega-Xis snorted in amusement.

"N-n-not funny!" Sonia blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm actually meeting the Sun Goddess herself! And she's so cute, too~!" Issun swooned, his radiation pink once more, "Okay! I've decided!" his radiation turned back to normal, "I'm gonna tell the old stories, but also draw your current story!"

"...Say what?" Geo looked up at the beetle EM Being on his head.

"I'll stick with ya both so I can draw the legend in the making!" Issun declared as he pulled his sword out and pointed it high, "This I swear on my blade Denpamaru and on my skills as an artist!"

"...EH?!" Sonia exclaimed.

' _She just had to test that out…'_ Lyra thought.

=Oh great. Now we're stuck with the dumb gnat= Omega-Xis grumbled.

"You can leave anytime you want, Baka-ryuu."

=Jokes on you. Geo NEEDS me so he can turn into Megaman, so ha!=

"Hey, I could do the same ya know! I'm made from _your_ Denpa after all!"

=My what?=

"Denpa!"

"EM Radiation," Sonia translated.

=...You ain't my kid!=

"Who wants to be known as a baka-ryuu's kid?!"

=Oi! Anyone would wanna be my kid!=

"They'd probably be mentally damaged!"

=No! They'd be badasses who do what they want!=

"Then I'm staying!"

=Fine! ...Wait. What just happened?=

=Ahahahahahahahaha!= Lyra cracked up.

=Shut it, out of tune harp!=

=Baka-inu!=

"Hai! Baka-ryuu!"

=I WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS, THE BOTH OF YA!=

Issun quickly painted another rolled up paper and enlarged it with his mallet, "I call it…" Geo caught the picture, displaying Sonia painting Sunrise in the sky, dispelling the rain, "'The First Sunrise!'" he bowed to Sonia, "Please take care of this lowly wandering artist."

' _What have I gotten myself into…?'_ Sonia thought.

* * *

=WILL YOU STOP LAUGHING?!= Omega-Xis snapped as Goodall was holding her stomach as she laughed.

"I can't help it!" Goodall replied between laughs, "It's just so good!"

"We've contacted the museum and they'll be happy to set up a permanent wing for the relics you've got down here," Ace noted.

"Really? That's great! It'll only help with reviving interest in the history of our homeland!" Issun cheered, "Just leave the revival of the old stories to yours truly!"

=Don't bother. They're most likely gonna be perver-=

=Oh thank you…= Lyra sighed in relief.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Issun snapped, "Don't go insulting the stories of Nihon like that, baka-ryuu! Especially the ones about Amaterasu!"

"Please stop laughing…" Sonia pleaded as Goodall laughed harder.

"S...sorry! It...it's just so funny…!"

"It's not…" Sonia whined a bit.

=You must admit that to those who don't fully know the old stories, it does sound hilarious that a god would become a young girl= FILSS noted.

"Not. helping. FILSS!" Sonia exclaimed, an embarrassed blush on her face.

"Still...we now know you can cause rains to stop with your brush," Ace noted.

"Ending rain's just the beginning! Sunrise lets her call the sun anytime! She can even turn night into day!" Issun informed, "Yeesh! You really need the old stories told to ya involving the Fudegami!" he hopped over to the case of animal statues, "Like the Hanagami! Ever hear the saying 'See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil'? Well, that's because it comes from the Hanagami! As Sakigami's face is blocked by his shō while playing, he 'sees no evil,' while Hasugami's mouth is preoccupied by his shakuhachi so he 'speaks no evil.' Cymbals are known to be loud, therefore, Tsutagami 'hears no evil.'" he hopped around excitedly, "And the trio have the power of the Greensprout! They control plantlife! And Kazegami can control the winds, Gekigami lightning itself, and don't get me started on Kasugami and her power over time itself!"

"...So glad this Kasugami didn't meet Timeman during that incident…" Geo muttered.

=Yep. Sheep looks like it's drunk=

"I don't know this Timeman guy, but I do have faith that if he ran into Kasugami, he'd be pleading for mercy!" Issun declared, "But the strongest of them all is Amaterasu, because she can earn _all_ their powers!"

"Really?" Sonia and Geo blinked.

"How else do you explain Misora-sama being able to use both Sunrise and Bloom?!" Issun threw his hands up in the air, "For even the great mother of all to forget her history...It's a real crying shame is what it is!"

"...Ano…"

"...I GOT IT! We just need to find the other Fudegami so she can relearn them!"

"But we found Sakigami by pure accident," Geo noted.

"Wrong! You found Sakigami through performing deeds of Praise! Such as giving the fruit back to the Guardian Sapling from that big fat toad ya told me about!" Issun replied, "We just need to find other Guardian Saplings and help others in need and that should let us run into more Fudegami!"

"Didn't Ms. Sakuya mention there being more of those trees out there?" Geo pondered.

"You met Konohanasakuya-hime, too?! Oh...oh the gods of luck must be in my favor!" Issun beamed, "Is it true she's got cutouts on her dress shaped like peaches? Was she really beauty divine?"

"We lost him again," Sonia sweatdropped.

=Maybe Omega had a point on him being perverted…= Lyra muttered.

"Well, I think it's becoming clear now," Ace chuckled, "Geo, Sonia, I think I got a big mission for you both; go out and find all the Guardian Saplings so we can get more information from Sakuya when she shows up at them."

"Eh?!" Geo and Sonia exclaimed.

"And don't worry. If you guys need some backup, just give me a call and I'll make it happen."

"Don't worry, Misora-sama! I'll make sure to record the journey for future generations to tell of it!" Issun declared, already painting another rolled up piece of paper, "Hey, FILSS, you make sure to listen to everything Granny Goodall tells ya to do for her while I'm out travelling!"

=Understood, Issun=

"Oh boy, this is gonna be so great! Travelling all over, spreading the tales of our land's lost history, and even getting to be up close and personal on writing new tales to tell!" Issun cheered, his radiation a pure gold now, "Aside from having to deal with a baka-ryuu, it's gonna be sugei!"

=I can grab a piece of paper and roll it up. No one will be the wiser= Omega-Xis growled.

"Ignoring~" Issun sang.

=Oh, you little gnat!=

"Great! Head on back to Geo's place and we can start looking for those Guardian Saplings first thing tomorrow!" Ace grinned.

"Got it, taicho!"

"...Uh…"

"It means Captain."

"...I like it!" Ace grinned.

=Oh. This'll be good. What's yer mom gonna think 'bout the gnat?= Omega-Xis snorted.

* * *

"Now why didn't you tell me you had a son, Mega?" Hope asked, pouting a little as he mock-glared at Omega-Xis while Issun was flat on his back, his radiation pink with hearts floating out of him.

"I'm surrounded by beautiful young women. Did I really come out of stasis or did it malfunction and delete me and this is heaven…?" Issun mumbled happily.

"Like hell this little perv's my son!" Omega-Xis snapped.

"Well, he did say he was made from _your_ radiation," Kevin snickered, "In a way, I guess he is your kid."

"Oi!" Omega-Xis snapped before groaning, "Geo, please tell me you got that game data from that lab the gnat was in…"

"Dr. Boreal's working on it," Geo replied, "He said it'll take a while before he can get to the fighting game since he's more interested in the other ones first."

"OH COME ON!" Omega-Xis complained.

"Huh...So this is what you've managed to figure out so far?" Issun asked as Kevin showed him his notes, "Ya got it all right so far, but...you're missing the writing."

"The writing?" Kevin repeated.

"Yeah. It's not done phonetically, but symbolically," Issun explained before making three slashes on a piece of paper, forming the image of what appeared to be a man or something on fire, "Like this. This means 'fire' and it looks like it."

"I see...I see…" Kevin nodded, "Think you could draw a little sheet of the Japanese alphabet for me?"

"Sure thing!" Issun beamed.

"Where do you think the next Guardian Sapling is?" Sonia pondered.

"I'm not sure," Geo replied, "Ms. Sakuya mentioned a Kamiki Village, but I've never heard of it."

"Kamiki Village? Oh! That's from the story that old man told us, wasn't it?" Hope pondered, "The one about Orochi and the wolf Shiranui and the two lovers Nagi and Nami?"

"Hai," Sonia nodded.

"Ah...Now that's a classic tale," Issun reminisced, "Though not without some sadness mixed in. It's said Orochi was freed a hundred years later and that Amaterasu slaid the beast with help of Nagi's descendent Susano'o. But defeating Orochi caused part of Nihon to break off and vanish."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah...Didn't help there were some nasty spirits that were released from Orochi's curse, especially a rather nasty nine-tailed fox!" Issun replied, "But there is legend that when Amaterasu reincarnates, the missing part of the land would start to reappear, praying for the day it can reunite with the main part of the land!" he crossed his arms and tilted his head in thought, "In fact, it was said that the part of the land that went missing included the capital and a few villages."

"?!" Geo and Sonia's eyes widened at that.

"...Geo...you don't think…"

"That the 'mysterious dissapearing island' we heard about in the news is the missing part he's talking about?"

"Disappearing island?" Issun repeated.

"It's been on the news lately. An island keeps appearing off the coast at random times throughout the day," Hope explained.

"Huh...Sounds like the perfect place for the country-wide trip to start at!" Issun beamed, "Where was the island last seen?!"

"I think it was just north of Alohaha the last time the news reported it," Kevin replied.

"Aloe-haha?"

"No no. _Alohaha_ ," Hope corrected, "A beach."

"?!" Issun's eyes widened, "That sounds so sugei~!"

"Little perv probably just wants to see girls in bikinis…" Omega-Xis muttered.

"HOW DARE YOU! I AM NOT A LITTLE PERV!"

"OH YEAH?! THEN WHAT ARE YA?!"

"I am the great Issun! A wandering artist who tells the tales of Nippon's past through his art!" Issun declared.

"More like a perverted little gnat with a fetish for big boobs!" Omega-Xis snapped.

"Don't make me come in there! I'll jump in yer stomach and poke so many holes in it, you can water a field by just taking a sip of water!"

"I'll grind ya into powder and make ya inta a cup of coffee!"

"I'll go in yer nogging and make ya dance the disco!"

"I'll chew ya up like bubblegum!"

Geo and Sonia sighed. This was going to be a _long_ trip.

* * *

 _GT: Well, ladies and gents, introducing the tiniest EM-made being around, Issun!_

 _SZ: Eeyup, and already Omega-Xis hates him._

 _Omega-Xis: How can I not?! He's so annoying and perverted!_

 _GT: Annoying, huh? Gee, where have I experienced that before?_

 _SZ: Yeah. Where…?_

 _Omega-Xis:...what's that supposed to mean?!_

 _GT: Ah well. Hope you readers enjoyed this chapter. Make sure to leave a comment for the chapter!_

 _SZ: Eeyup, so until next time. I am Seanzilla115, he is Gammatron, and we will see you all next time! Oh and...a little selfish, but be sure to check out my youtube channel for my LP, and for any LPs GT has planned on his channel._

 _GT: Possibly. So until then, read and review everyone!_


	6. Painting 6

_SZ: *mutters while trying to draw some kanji* Almost...dang it! Keep messing up! Ugh…*looks at the screen* oh! Uh...hey. Psst! GT! We're live!_

 _GammaTron: *playing Pokemon Sun Nuzlocke* Yo! *looks at the screen* Dammit. Got an Alolan Meowth and not a Magnemite...I'mma gonna call him 'Garfield' since he's got a Lax Nature and because his face gets fat as a Persian._

 _SZ: Fitting. Ahem..anyway, welcome one and all to another chapter of Rising Sun!_

 _GT: And as you may recall, last chapter we got a new character here…_

 _SZ: Issun, who was found in a hidden lab by Geo and Sonia. Speaking of whom, looks like they're on another important mission; find the Guardian Saplings, and search for the remaining Fudegami powers._

 _GT: And their first stop…*sends out a Litten in a red scarf while putting on a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses* Alola! *OC Cyber walks in and whispers in his ear* ...Oh. It's_ Alohaha _? *hands the Litten over to Cyber and pushes her out* Go do the Sun Nuzlocke already..._

 _SZ: Eeyup, but what'll await our small group of heroes? Well...let's find out. We do not own anything in this story aside from any OCs that appear in this. Megaman Starforce and Okami both belong to Capcom while any other series used in this belongs to their respective companies. Now...GT? Care to start us off?_

 _GT: Yep. *hangs up a sign reading 'I encountered a fancy pants Meowth over you first, Scramble. Sorry~'* And now I flee since Scramble is livid. *flees*_

 _Magnezone: *floats in* =Sign noticed with name. Analysis: ...Response: Firing Zap Cannon=_

 _SZ: OH SHI-!_

 _ ***CRACKLE~! BOOM!***_

* * *

Sonia yawned as she stretched her arms up in the bedroom, the sun starting to rise outside her window, "I think I can get used to feeling like I've slept a full ten hours even if it was just a few hours."

=It still bothers me a bit. I mean, those medical files I read about the study of sleeping tell of bad side effects of not sleeping enough= Lyra noted =Worst case scenario, you could end up with narcolepsy=

"Honto?" Sonia looked over at the VG Hunter on the bedside table.

=Hai. Imagine having that happen in the middle of a recording or, even worse, a concert?=

"Yeesh…" Sonia cringed.

=Exactly, so better be cautious on how late you stay up or how long you sleep= Lyra nodded =But on another note, I suggest you get ready for the day. We're going to start looking for Guardian Saplings, Fudegami, and that island today, remember?=

"Hai~!" Sonia beamed as she got out of bed, "And our first stop is Alohaha!"

=Not a vacation, Sonia=

"Ah mou…" Sonia slumped.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

=...And that sounds like Omega-Xis is awake=

* * *

"You get back here right now!" Omega-Xis snarled as he lunged for Issun, only for the one-inch Denpa being to jump over him with one leap, letting the AM-Ian go through a wall.

"Why are you upset? I made you look better!" Issun demanded.

"DOES THIS LOOK BETTER TO YOU?!" Omega-Xis snapped as he poked his head out of the wall, pointing at the ink on his face.

"It makes you look like a baka-inu like Lyra-sama says you are!" Issun beamed.

"Oh you little…!" Omega-Xis snarled.

"Wizard Off," Geo grumbled before Omega-Xis was sucked into the VG Hunter, "Too early, darn it…"

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Subaru-san!" Issun greeted, jumping up on the railing and then onto Geo's nose to let him see the one-inch Denpa being, "Guess he didn't like the art I made on him. Gomen nassai."

"...What did you do?"

"I painted his face to make him look more like a baka-inu!" Issun beamed.

"..." Geo sighed after a moment while getting up, Issun jumping onto the bedside table, before making his way down to his bedroom's personal bathroom, "Too early for this nonsense…"

"Oh please. That mutt wouldn't know art if it wasn't embedded in his eyes," Issun scoffed before his Denpa turned pink, "But enough about me and the mutt! Go and get ready so we can meet Misora-Tenshi-sama!"

=Little perverted gnat=

"Little gnat that got you locked in the wrist thingy."

=WHAT WAS THAT?!=

 ***beep***

"Found the mute button!" Issun beamed, "Take that, Baka-Ryu!"

"Ugh…" Geo sighed, _'Why did we release him again? ...Oh yeah...Sonia said the password by complete accident.'_

* * *

"Ugh….bored…" Vulpecula muttered as she laid on her side, her tails swaying lazily, "Where are those scouts? They should've reported back by now..."

A cold wind blew through the air, putting out the candles in the decorated room she was laying within. Vulpecula rolled her eyes as a wall made of wood with a thick, black material in a grid pattern on it slid apart in the middle to the sides, letting a black blur shoot in. Making a spin before landing was a humanoid figure. It's body was muscular with a dark-blue gi top and black hakama on its legs, bound together by a blood red braided rope going around into a large bow on its back. Talons grew where fingernails should have been while wooden sandals with black straps were secured to its sock-covered feet, the socks the same dark-blue as the gi top. Its head was that of a crow's with a pair of large wings on its back, black feathers twitching as if each one were alive on its own. The crow bowed to her, going down to one knee and keeping his head to the floor.

"...What do you want, Karasu?" Vulpecula frowned a bit, flicking a tail and causing the candles to be relit.

" **News from the scouts,"** the crow-like being informed in a deep voice before pulling out a roll of paper bound by a red string.

"...Let me see," Vulpecula ordered, using one of her tails to grab it.

" **Understood, Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu bowed as the humanoid fox FM-Ian took the scroll from her tail.

"Let's see what those idiots found…" Vulpecula whispered, undoing the rope as she opened the roll of paper up, "...Hmm...Alohaha, huh...oh~? A Guardian Sapling? Interesting…" holding up the scroll, it erupted in black flames that ate away at it until there was nothing left, "It seems we'll finally be able to send that message to Sakuya and whoever gave her aide then."

" **What do you command, Vulpecula-sama?"** Karasu asked.

Vulpecula used her tails to grab a brush, a bottle of ink, and a scroll with a fox print on the backside before writing in it, "Take this to where our...new ally...resides. Then head for the docks and order a boat for them to take them to where I want them to go."

" **Hai, Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu complied as, once he was given the scroll tied with a red string, flew out, extinguishing all the candles once more.

"...You know, I think I should have a front row seat of this," Vulpecula whispered to herself as she stood up, "Besides, I want to see who the Sun Goddess' power went to myself~ Demo...who shall I have look after this place while I'm gone? ...As if I'm letting one of the Imps look after things...hmm..."

* * *

As Vulpecula contemplated, a wooden hut with a domed roof housed the sound of metal grinding against stone. A broad red blade was pressed against a spinning wheel of stone, sparks coming off as the stone sharpened the blade. The grinding halted as the worker tilted their shadowed head up, their glowing red eyes with sickly green slits inside moving towards the open entry behind them.

" _ **W̧̢͘͟͞h͡͏҉̶̀a̴̧͟͝t͢ ̨̢̨̛̀i̵̶͏͟͡ş́͘ ͏̀i̸͡t̵̢?̵"**_

" **Orders from Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu informed, kneeling down in the entry while offering the scroll.

The figure stood up and grasped the offered scroll, the pale moonlight shining from the entrance revealing a pale-grey and black gauntlet with blades emerging along the back of it and three long ones on the back of the hand. The figure opened the scroll and looked at it before sheathing the red blade into a knife-sized sheath despite the vast difference in sizes.

" _ **R̨͠͡͡͠e͘͜ć̷̨e̸̵͠í͢͠͠͝v̢͜é̸͠d҉̸̀͘͠.̶,"**_ the figure stated.

" **Good. I shall prepare your vessel,"** Karasu nodded as he vanished.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Issun."

"Are we there yet?"

"No, Issun."

"...Are we th-"

=IF YOU ASK ONE MORE TIME, I WILL SMACK YOU UPSIDE YOUR TINY HEAD WITH A Q-TIP, GNAT!= Omega-Xis snapped.

"And you're sure Mute doesn't work when you're combined with him?" Issun asked, looking down at Megaman's eyes by bending down from his spot on the top of Megaman's visor.

"If he did, then there'd be a whole lot less headaches," Lyra answered.

=Oh screw you both!=

"I told ya before, I don't swing that way!" Issun replied with a laugh, his radiation yellow.

=WHY YOU LITTLE…!=

"Ano...I think I see Alohaha up ahead," Lyra Note spoke, hoping to change the subject.

"Hm?!" Issun looked over at her and, despite the speed they were moving, jumped over to Lyra Note and looked ahead, "Oh wow~! That is a huge beach!"

=You sure it's the beach you're looking at, or are you looking at the women there?= Omega-Xis muttered.

"Baka says what?"

=What? ...OH DAMN IT!=

"Nice. Very nice," Lyra giggled.

"Arigatou, Lyra-sama~!" Issun beamed, his radiation pink.

"Let's see if we can find a place to land at," Megaman suggested as he looked around.

"Why not there?" Issun asked, pointing at a post with a monitor and holographic keyboard.

"Too many people that'll crowd us upon seeing us," Lyra Note replied.

"...What's wrong with that?" Issun tilted his head, "I mean, you're Amaterasu reborn after all, Misora-Tenshi-sama. A lot of people looking up to ya and giving ya Praise helps ya get stronger."

"Soka...demo...How do I put this…?" Lyra Note muttered.

"Issun...Think of it like this, you become world famous for your paintings…" Megaman spoke.

"Uh-huh…" Issun nodded.

"But when you're out and wanting to do some painting, fans will come at you and interrupt you constantly when you're trying to paint."

"Uh-huh…" Issun nodded.

"And then…"

=Then there's paparazzi= Omega-xis interjected.

"Pop a what now?" Issun blinked.

=Paparazzi: people who'll do anything for pictures and, most likely, a reason to ruin some famous person's life over a small misconception or money= Omega-Xis explained =The moment they see Sonia, not only will they hound her day in and day out, but they'll try and ruin her life just to make a few bucks, even if she's a god=

"WHAT?!" Issun exclaimed, Lyra Note barely catching the tiny EM-Wave being in her free hand from his fall in shock, "Are they evil Yokai?!"

=Nope. Humans...really, really, REALLY greedy humans=

"And we're not supposed to be seen right now. We're trying to look for the other Fudegami, the Guardian Saplings, or even that island here," Lyra added.

"...Ohh…! So you mean we can't be seen and have to be all stealthy?" Issun asked.

"Yes/Hai," the two teens replied.

Issun gasped, his radiation turning white with hints of yellow in it, "We're gonna be shinobi and a kunoichi!"

"...In a way, yes…" Lyra slowly nodded.

"Brilliant! And minus the colors, your outfits are almost exactly like a shinobi and kunoichi's attire!"

"She-know-be? Coo-no-itchy?" Megaman tried to pronounce.

"Ninja," Lyra translated, "Male and female ninja respectively."

=Well why didn't he say that in the first place?!= Omega-Xis demanded.

"Simple; you never asked for the translation," Issun countered.

=YOU LITTLE PERVERTED GNAT!=

"Mou…" Lyra Note sighed before noticing the jungle just outside the city, "...Oh! Why not near that waterfall there? Nobody will be able to see us there."

"Sounds like a good idea," Megaman agreed.

=Best one I've heard all day so far…= Omega-Xis muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, within a dark alleyway in the city, a certain nine tailed-vixen EM wave being emerged from the shadows, her tails swaying behind her.

"...Ugh, not the best spot, but it'll do for now…" Vulpecula muttered, "Just need a good disguise...ugh. The fact I have to look human disgusts me, but I can't draw attention to myself…" she then looked down, seeing a magazine of the latest fashion at her feet, "Hello~" she used one of her tails to pick it up and opened it, "Hmm...should be simple enough, but….why go with simple~?"

The tips of her tails glowed red as they rose up. Each of them began to move and made two images before her. The first resembled two curved slashes to resemble a mountain or volcano. The second resembled an uppercase 'P', a floating lowercase 'g', and a small box between them with a line going through each.

" **人間** **(Ningen - Human)** ," Vulpecula stated.

The floating symbols washed over her, covering her in a red liquid akin to spilt blood. The liquid hissed before enshrouding her in black smoke. Stepping out of the smoke after a moment was a shapely young woman with flowing blood-red hair. She wore a tight-fitting black shirt, her impressive bosom tightly stretching the fabric of her chest area, and a pair of black jeans that hugged to her slender legs and supple, taunt behind. Her skin was slightly pale, yet held not a single blemish upon it, while a bang covered her right eye. She opened her left eye, revealing it to be a solid red before fading into a plain eye with a black iris.

"...Hmm~" the woman pondered a bit as she looked at herself, "Not bad… Even as a human, I still look amazing~ Hmmm mmm mm...Oh~" she swooned a bit, a blush gracing her cheeks, "If only my beloved could see me now~"

* * *

"Ugh~"

"Something wrong, Omega?" Megaman asked.

"Nothing. Just….felt something I haven't felt in a long time…" Omega-Xis muttered as he looked around, "Listen...if ya smell candles and leather and hear a girlish giggle... _flee_."

"...I think the Baka-Ryu snapped…" Issun whispered to Lyra Note, being on her shoulder.

"No, no, no. He has a valid reason for that," Lyra informed, shuddering.

"Wait...really?"

"And...Wait a second...You just called me a stupid dragon again, didn't you?!" Omega-Xis snapped at Issun, pointing at the one-inch EM-Being.

"Oh~! He's finally looking at the translation notes Kevin-san's been making!" Issun noted, his radiation's normal coloration turning darker, "Whatcha gonna do~ with a Baka-Ryu~?"

"I'LL MAUL YA!" Omega-Xis snapped, lunging at Lyra Note's shoulder, only for Issun to jump over the AM-Ian and land on Megaman's head, letting the AM-Ian crash through a tree.

"Aw~No one warned him about the tree like in the cartoons…" Issun mock-pouted.

"AREA EA…" Omega-Xis roared, lunging out of the ground.

"Wizard Off," Megaman deadpanned as Omega-Xis was sucked back into the VG Hunter, "I am getting too much practice with that feature."

=DAMN IT, GEO!=

"Let's just focus on finding the Guardian Sapling," Lyra rolled her eyes a bit, "Question is...where to look exactly?"

"I have no idea," Issun admitted, "The only thing I know is that the stories say that the Guardian Saplings all look like one another when bereft of foliage."

"Huh?" Lyra Note tilted her head.

"Without leaves," Megaman translated.

"Ah…" Lyra Note nodded before she made a holographic screen appear, displaying the first Guardian Sapling when it wasn't in bloom, "Good thing Lyra-chan took a picture of this when we arrived there that day."

"Oh! That's what it looks like!" Issun exclaimed, "We just need to find that one!"

=And how exactly are we gonna do that? Last time we found it, the entire area was greyed out with the people being statues= Omega-Xis stated =And there's no greyed out areas here anywhere!=

"That's because the tree could likely still be healthy as can be!" Issun replied, jumping about, "For all we know, it could be taken care of by someone!"

"...He does have a point," Lyra spoke up, "If someone is looking after it, they most likely have it hidden somewhere so no one could find it."

=How do you hide a tree?= Omega-Xis asked =Those things are huge=

"Oh! I know the answer!" Issun beamed, "You hide a tree in a forest!"

=Like the one we're technically in?= Omega-Xis deadpanned =And don't point out that we're in a jungle either! They're technically the same thing since they have trees in them!=

"Actually…" Megaman began.

=The. Same. _Thing_ =

"Ugh…" Lyra sighed, "Pig headed idiot…"

=Out of tune harp…=

"Out of tune harp that doesn't get put in time out like a brat..."

=WHAT WAS THAT?!=

"Okay, moving on!" Megaman called, "Let's just hurry and find this Guardian Sapling already!"

"Or Fudegami!" Issun added before Megaman gave him a look, "..." he hid behind one of the circular objects on Lyra Note's helmet, "I'll be good."

"You better…"

* * *

"...Gone again…" Solo frowned as he stood on the edge of a cliff looking out at the ocean.

=...=

"I am not going to ask him for help," Solo scowled, "I refuse to ask for any of their help."

=...=

"I can handle this on my own…" Solo stated.

=... …?=

"What are you talking about?"

=...=

Solo narrowed his eyes, turning away from the coast, "..." he tensed up, "What is this feeling? It feels...almost like the energy from that island..."

=...=

"...Yeah...it's not human nor an EM being…" Solo frowned before he was suddenly surrounded by a hoard of Green and Red Imps, a few Yellow ones hidden among them, "...Whatever you are...turn back now."

" **!"** one of the Imps roared as they all leapt at him.

"...Fine…" Solo whispered as the Imps neared him, "...Laplace."

A ghostly blue EM radiation appeared beside Solo, reshaping into a beastial humanoid shape as bits of chipped white and grey armor formed. A pair of solid yellow eyes appeared on the pointed beast-like 'head' of the figure, flashing briefly. The figure twitched before Solo was behind the Green Imps, now weilding a scimitar as big as him resembling the bits of chipped armor Laplace was made of. The Green Imps collapsed...their heads rolling off their shoulders as glowing blue/purple fangs that size of their heads emerged from the bodies that turned into beds of flowers.

"...Hmph…" Solo scoffed as he looked back at the remaining Imps, "Who's next?"

A few of the Imps cautiously backed away from him, some sweating nervously at the intimidating aura surrounding him.

"...I thought so…" Solo frowned, only to tense for a moment as he turned, blocking a strike from what resembled a fin, "Cowards..."

Floating in the air above him were a pair of humanoid fish-like creatures. They wore open happi on their bodies while sporting wings resembling fins on their backs.

"...What are these creatures…" Solo whispered before side stepping a diving swipe from one of the fish, slicing it's fin-like wings off in the pass by, "Whatever you are, y-" the fish shot up before grabbing onto him ,"?!"

 ***BOOM!***

The Imps stood there, looking at the smoke. As it settled, the Imps were startled by the sight of the human unharmed, a white barrier surrounding him fading away.

"So...they explode once weakened…" Solo noted, eyeing the other flying fish-like creature, "Albeit not strong, but I better keep my guard up."

" **! #! !?"** one of the Red Imps freaked.

" **! ! ~~~!"** another cried out of fear, looking at the lead Imp in pure worry.

" **..."** the lead Imp, a Red Imp, scratched its chin under the piece of paper over its face, **"!-!"** it snapped its fingers while pointing at the sky...before promptly waving a white flag.

" **?~!?"** the other Imps and the solo fish-like creature faceplanted.

"...Wise choice…" Solo stated before gaining a firm glare, "Now leave."

 ***SHINK***

"?!" Solo looked down, "But…" blood trickled out of his mouth, "...how? Who…?"

" _ **A͏͡͡ ̴͘͜͡b͠a̡̛̕͟͝r̴r҉̸̧͟͟i̛̛̕͢e҉͟͟͞ŕ̨ ̴̴͠m̛͜͞ą̸͠d҉̢͘͢e͟͝͡҉ ͏̷͞b̸̷̨͠y̸͜ ̷̀͞ţ̶̶̀͝h͢҉̷͘e͢͟ ̵͞҉̡M̵͜͢ų͞ŗ̷̀̕i̴͢a҉̶̴͟n̵̨s̸̀́͠.̷̴͢.̵̨͟͞.̡̀͞…"**_

"?!" Solo slowly turned to see a shadowed figure behind him, "...A….god….?"

" _ **D͏̕͟͡è͢͢ş̶ṕ̴̴̢͠ì͟t̨͜e̡͡҉ ́͜͏y̸̛҉͞ǫ̶̨̢ú̶̢͜r̸̡̛͞ ̶̷̛́a̴͝d́͢͡͡v̨̨́̀͞a͘͠҉̵n̴͜͜c̷͘͞͏͠è̷̴̛͞ ̷t̢e̕̕͞c̢̧̀ḩ́͠n͠ǫ̛l͘o̶̴̡͘g̸̕͞y̶͟ ͡҉͟į̶̵̵n̶̸ ̨͢͞͏͡t̶̀͟h͠é̡ ̸̢͏t͘͘i̡̡̕m͢͞ȩ͘ ̕b̧̛͘͢͞è̛̀͢f̀͏ǫ̴̀͡͏r̨̨̛͢e҉.͟͠.̷̵.̶̛͜҉y͘͜͝o҉͝u҉̶̢r̵̨̀̀͘ ̷̛͟ŕ̕͠à͝c̶̴̀͘e͡҉̵̢ ̴̧͘h̕҉͟͞a҉̕͠͝͞s̨̀͘͝ ̨͠͏̕͞ò̵̶̴͝ǹ̸̨l̛͟͟y̴͘ ͡͏͟b̢e̕͜͜͜çò҉͞͝m̀͜҉̸e̸̕҉ ̵̷̀p̶̧͘͡a͏̢҉͘t̷͘h̴̀͜͠ȩ̛t̀́̕͘i͏̷̡͡c҉̡̀͘.̵́́͝͠.̵͘͠.̧"**_ an armored foot resembling a samurai's wooden sandal, socks, pants, and light armor was pressed onto the side of Solo's chest before he was kicked off the blood-stained broad sword and off the cliff.

" **! !$ &!$!~!" **the imps cheered on relief as the fish-like creature floated down.

The figure glared at them, making them freeze in fear, _**"F̸̶̵͟͟ì̡͏ņ҉̨̛ḑ͘͝͡ ͠͡҉͢t҉́̕h̷̢͘͜è̶ ҉̶͝G̸̢͘͟͜u̵͡a̸͏̧̢͡r̕͜͏̀͝d̷̡í̧a͘ņ̨̛͢ ̴̸̶̨̕S͠͝҉̴a͏͠p̴̷̀͠l̷̶̀͞í͝n̢͢g̸͘͢ ͠a̶̛͡t̶̶͝҉͡ ̢͟͢͢o̸̷̢̕͞n҉̡c̷̡e̡͏́.̶̷̷͟͟"**_

" **!"** the creatures saluted as they scattered.

* * *

"So...Issun?"

"Hai, Subaru-san?" Issun asked, looking down at Megaman's face from his spot on the blue bomber's visor.

"How do you know about these Guardian Saplings?"

"Well...from scrolls, actually," Issun replied.

"Scrolls?" Lyra Note repeated.

"Hai," Issun nodded as he pulled out a scroll and bopped it with his hammer, causing it to enlarge and it fell into Megaman's hand, "See?"

Megaman caught the scroll and opened it, "...I can't read it."

"Eh?" Lyra Note looked over his shoulder, "...'In Kamiki Village, there grows a magnificent tree called Konohana. Konohana has split its roots to form many trees throughout Nippon in order to better protect and preserve the glory of nature. Differing accounts shed little light on the tree's true origin. Some say that the tree was born when it sprouted from a dead god. Others speculate that it was transplanted from a faraway land. No story yet concocted can be considered the true version. However, the sensation I get as I draw Konohana is unmistakable.

This is a plant that cannot be tamed by a mere brush. The miracle of its existence is more than can be sketched. One wonders what secrets lie behind its broad leaves.'"

=How'd you know what it said?=

"It's written in Japanese," Issun explained, "Skye said he found several of them in perfect condition despite carbon dating techniques say they're millenia old, which is why I know so much.

"Ahh...soka," Lyra noted, "Any hints on where they might be hiding?"

"I think they're often either in caves with light to shine on them or in places overlooking everything," Issun replied.

"...Hmm…" Megaman began to ponder for a moment, "If they're in caves with a hole for light to get in or in high places…"

"...Maybe something like a waterfall cave?" Lyra Note suggested.

"A waterfall cave?"

"Hai. It could get some sunlight, and take in the water from the waterfall."

"Oh! Great idea, Misora-tenshisama!" Issun beamed, 'Let's look for a waterfall!"

=And where do we exactly look? It's not like there's gonna be a some huge waterfall in a…= Omega Xis began as the group went through some bushes in the jungle...coming upon a large lake with a majestic waterfall flowing into it =...=

"Yay! Baka-Ryuu invoked Murphy for a good cause!" Issun cheered.

=...=

"...Uh…" Lyra began.

=Shut up. Just….shut up=

"Come on!" Issun cheered, jumping excitedly, "Let's look for a cave behind the waterfall!"

"Okay, okay," Megaman chuckled, feeling a bit excited as well from Issun's current gleeful state.

"Ikuze!" Lyra Note cheered.

"Ikuze!" Issun beamed.

=...uh...Iku…= Omega-Xis began before the area began to grey a little =?=

"The Guardian Sapling's strength is fading," Issun realized as black and red smoke started to appear.

"Oh no…" Lyra Note whispered as the water began to darken, "...We need to find the cave."

"I'll say! Considering you most likely are missing all your techniques, you'll start to grow weak in the fully tainted areas forming, Misora-tenshisama!" Issun warned.

=Let's get going!= Omega-Xis roared before Megaman yelped as Omega-Xis forced his left arm ahead...and pulled him off down towards the water.

"Gah!" Megaman yelped as he fell into the water before jumping out, grabbing his lit behind and landing on a tiny island with a tree on it, "Eeyow! It's acid?!"

"That's what happens to water when corrupted! It turns into poison!" Issun snapped.

"Poison?!" Lyra Note and Lyra gasped.

"Yup. It's like condensed evil in a sense," Issun added, "So...not getting in unless ya wanna melt."

=You should've told us that before, you gnat!=

"I was gonna when you pulled Subaru-san in, Baka-Ryu!"

"Can we please get moving?!" Lyra demanded.

"Hai, hai/Yeah, yeah…= the two EM-made beings muttered.

* * *

"Not good…" Ace muttered a bit, noticing the area Geo and Sonia were at greying out from a monitor.

"It's like the video of the gardens," Goodall noted, "Oh!" the feed showed that as the black and red mist covered the trunk of a tree, the tree shook before it was sucked up into the mist, "It's absorbing the greenery."

"Hmm?" Ace wondered as he watched more and more greenery absorbed in the mists, "Just like the flowers and trees at the gardens…"

=Please let it not be another toad= Acid pleaded before tensing up =I am detecting something in their vicinity and it is approaching them at an accelerated rate=

"What is it, Acid?" Ace asked.

=The readings...it's nearly identical to the altered readings of Sonia and Lyra...but almost like it was mixed with Crimson=

"...Geo, Sonia? Do you read me? Over," Ace called over the communicator, "...Geo! Sonia! Do you read me!? ...Not good. I can't contact them."

"Could the mist be acting as interference?" Goodall pondered.

"Most likely...they better be careful."

* * *

"I found it!" Megaman called as Lyra Note got to the tiny island he was on.

"Where? Where did you see it?"

"Behind the waterfall," Megaman replied, "I can see a cave."

"Hmm?" Sonia blinekd as she looked ahead, faintly seeing a cave behind the slowly darkening waterfall, "...You're right...but how are we gonna get in?"

"We could try changing frequencies," Lyra suggested.

"Hmm...wouldn't hurt to try."

"Wait, what?" Issun pondered, tilting his head as his radiation changed colors to orange.

"You don't know how to change your frequency?" Megaman asked.

"No," Issun replied, shaking his head.

"...Then hang on tight."

"Huh?" Issun blinked before the two EM-Wave change humans changed frequency, "Wh-Whoa! What just happened?! I felt all tingly!" the two started walking towards the falls, causing Issun's radiation to turn blue as he began to panic, "Ah! Wh-What are you doing?! The water's poison!" the two began to walk above the water, " _NANI?!_ "

"This is a Frequency Change, Issun," Lyra explained, "We can't physically interact with the world in this state, but we can access the Wave Roads that float above the surface of the planet."

"S-So that means we're okay to go through the falls?" Issun asked.

"Hai," Lyra Note replied as the two proved it, entering the cave without worry, "See?"

"...You sure you're not shinobi, Misora-sama?"

"I'm sure," Lyra Note giggled before the three flinched after taking several steps in, "Geo-kun…"

"Yeah...I can't feel any Wave Roads in here," Megaman confirmed, "...We need to be extra cautious here."

"Hai," Lyra Note agreed with a nod as they continued on.

"That Frequency Change thing was pretty neat," Issun noted, "I didn't even feel the poison when we went through it."

=Meh. You get used to it= Omega-Xis shrugged as Megaman and Lyra Note continued down the cave's tunnel =?! ...Geo, you felt that right?=

"That massive killing intent? How can I not?"

"Urp!" Lyra Note covered her mouth, managing to swallow the bile that came up.

"Sonia/Misora-tenshisama?" Megaman and Issun asked.

"It...I feel something... _wrong_ …" Lyra Note explained.

"Hmm?"

"I...I don't know why, but I feel as if...something was...tainted...corrupted."

"It feels wrong...so very _very_ horrendously wrong…" Lyra noted, shivering in Lyra Note's arms.

"It's another sign of Misora-tenshisama being Amaterasu," Issun noted.

=Oh, not this again…=

"Quiet, Baka-Ryu. The Kami are said to be one with everything, able to sense even the slightest shifts," Issun noted, "But for one to nearly throw up…" he paled as his radiation turned grey, "...is for a Kami that was corrupted to be nearby."

"...corrupted...Kami?" Lyra Note whispered with wide eyes.

"Kami?" Megaman repeated.

"Translated...it means 'god,'" Lyra informed.

=...=

"..Oh that can't be good..." Megaman whispered.

=Yeah...Sounds like a challenge!= Omega-Xis beamed.

"Noooo! Not a challenge!" Issun exclaimed, "A corrupted Kami is the worst thing to fight! They have lost all sense of balance in their four parts and hold no restraints in anything!" he started to sweat heavily as he jumped ahead of them, "Come on! Come on! We need to find the Guardian Sapling! If we can restore it, maybe it'll fix the corrupted Kami in the area!"

"Ah! Issun-san, matte!" Lyra Note called as she began to run after the bouncing one-inch-tall EM Being.

=For a little gnat, he sure if fast= Omega-Xis noted as Megaman ran after Lyra Note.

"Tell me about it," Megaman muttered.

* * *

The two humans and three EM Beings entered a massive chamber seemingly carved by nature itself. Above them showed a hole in the ceiling, letting them see the clear grey skies above. Dead patches of plantlife decorated the area while the very center of the area sported a green sapling the side of a wolf, twitching in the center of what looked to have been a dried out pond's tiny island.

"Ah! There it is!" Issun exclaimed, jumping over to the sapling.

"This doesn't look like an old tree," Megaman admitted as the two walked over.

"The Guardian Saplings are special. When they get too weak, they'll sometimes revert to a smaller stage in life to preserve their energy," Issun explained, "But what could've been done to make it regress?"

"Ano...It could be that boulder there," Lyra noted as Lyra Note pointed to a large boulder where a faint leak of water was seen underneath.

"...Shouldn't be too simple for you, Misora-Tenshisama," Issun noted, "But considering you're a goddess...oi, mutt. Break that boulder."

=WHAT?! You don't order me around, half-pint!=

"Let's just get it over wi…" Megaman began before crying out as sparks raced off his armor in a diagonal.

"Geo-kun?!" Lyra Note gasped before stumbling, feeling she was going to throw up again, while another slash appeared on Megaman, sending him even further back.

"...Uh oh...this speed…those slashes..." Issun gulped, "That could only mean one thing...Tachigami!"

" _ **T̡͏̷́͢h̡͝͠e̛͘͘ ̶̢̨͝b̸̛ó̀͢͜͞u̢͟͟ĺ̵̵͢͟d̷̶̛͞͞è͟҉̀͢r͟͡ ̨͟r̶̶̛̀͠ę̷̢͡m͝͞҉͞a̧̨í͏ņ̸̢͘͡s͢҉͟ ͢u̢͏̴n̸̨҉t̷͡҉͏̢í̷̶͏́l̀͏ ̶͢͟͟t̵̴h̶̨͜͝e̛̕ ̵̴̕͡G̵̵͞u̷͞a͟r̕͏͠d̷҉í̡̢̛á̧n̢͘͘͠ ͜͜͞S̢̧̢͢͝á̧̛͟p̴l̶͞ì͏̛n̵̶͟͠҉g̴̸ ̨̕͡͡͞i̴͘s̷͘͝ ͏̡͝ą̀͢͟͝t͢ ̕͢͞͡i̵̧͜t̢̨҉̶̢s҉̧ ̴͡w̷̷̢͘͠é̸͞a̸̛k̸͢e͏̸̵̛s̷̨̛͢͠t̴͠."**_

"?!"

They looked to see a figure appear in a swirl of darkness. The figure appeared to be that of a man in his prime in terms of shape. They were completely pitch black with a myriad of purple swirling patterns covering their body and pitch black armor. The torso was covered in a layered set of armor with a purple trimming to hold it together while more layered armor covered the shoulders and sides of the legs and lower legs. Black socks with armored sandals resembling geta (wooden sandals) were on his feet while a helmet resembling a demonic rat covered their head's upper half. Resting on their hip was a blade still in its scabbard with the end of the hilt sporting an oversized paint brush that was pitch black with red ink.

"...Oh no...this..this darkness…" Issun whispered, faintly seeing a dark aura come off the man as a faint image of an eight headed serpent faintly appeared behind him, "It...it can't be…!"

 _ **"̷̛̕͢͠T̶̛͠͝h̴̀̀͞e͏ ̢̢͟G̷u̷̧a̧̢̕͟ŗ̸̧̨d̷̸̢̛i͏à͜͟͡ǹ͡҉͡͝ ̶̛͠S̢͝a͏p̨͜҉͡l̵̢͘͟i̸̷n̨̛̕͡ǵ҉̵͜ ̧̢̢̀d̶̀͜͢i͢͝e̶͞͏ş͡͠ ̸̨̕͞t̵̀o̷̶͜d͘͘͜a̢̧͞y̸̵̨̢͟.́͏̶͟͞ ̸̧̢͡D̡̕͝ǫ͞ ̸̧͝͝n̴̛͞o͏̧̛t̶̢͟͡͞ ͘g̸̴e̷͢t͟͝ ̨͠ì̛ń͟͜͢͢t̨e͜͢͠r̵̨̀͢͜f̶̵͘҉͞è̵̷̴͜r͏͝e͘͜ ̶̢̀͟w͡i̴̕͢ţ͏͞h͜͟ ͏̵̕͠m҉̷̧́͡y̷̷ ̡̀̀̕t̨̧́͝a̴͢͝͏̷s̶͘k͠҉̧̀,̸̀͟͜͜"̴́͢**_ the figure warned, resting a hand on his blade's handle.

=Ghhh...Lucky shot…= Omega-Xis growled as Megaman got up =Geo, let's go buck wild on this guy!=

"R...right…" Megaman grunted out, "M...Mega Cannon, Battle c-" before he could use it, the Battle Card was sliced in two, "?!"

=Oi! What was that for?!= Omega-Xis snapped.

"That's the power of Tachigami's Brush Technique: Power Slash!" Issun explained, "It's said he created the art of the blade and that he can move so fast, he can cut through anything."

=What?!=

"Shock Note!" Lyra Note cried out as her speakers appeared only to cry out as sparks came off the horizontal cut on her while her speakers were cut horizontally.

Tachigami only scoffed as he held his blade half-way out of its scabbard, waiting for another chance to strike.

=Ugh...It's time like this I wish we still had the Zerker power= Omega-Xis muttered.

"Same…" Megaman grunted.

"Misora-tenshisama! Try dotting the ground with your brush!" Issun called, a scroll in his hands.

"Huh?"

"Just trust me!"

"H-Hai!" Lyra Note replied as her brush came out.

The area turned sepia around her. Just as she was about to start moving, Tachigami began to move as well. Keeping his blade in its scabbard, he used the brush end to start drawing a red line across him, his view having the line going in a horizontal path on both Megaman and Lyra Note. Lyra Note quickly started dotting her view of the ground around Tachigami, a lone dot overlapping Tachigami's red line. The two put their brushes on their sides and the sepia changed back to normal. The red line faded while the ink dots made by Lyra Note erupted into tall trees. Tachigami grunted, holding his head with a hand as a shadowy energy began to be soaked into the trees.

"What the...W-Where did those trees come from?" Megaman pondered.

"Hurry and use whatever you were gonna use!" Issun barked, jumping on Megaman's head.

"Oh! R-right!" Megaman nodded as he began to look through his Battle Cards, "Come on..what to use for a high speed swordsman…?"

"Hurry! Those trees don't last long!" Issun warned.

"Machine Gun String!" Lyra Note called as her strings shot out and stabbed into Tachigami.

 _ **"̷͢͟͝G̡̧͝H҉̛͏?̴̵҉!̵̧̀͟͡"̸̧͝**_ Tachigami grunted before Lyra Note played on Lyra, sending out energy notes that began to electrocute the stunned corrupted Fudegami.

=Grr...use one of those cards we made based on the simulation! Something perfect for this!= Omega-Xis barked.

"But which...one…." Megaman whispered before his eyes widened, "...Got it. Yukianesa, Battle Card Predation!"

A pillar of ice appeared before him. Megaman reached out and grabbed the top of the ice. Upon contact, the ice shattered, revealing the freezing blade had been within.

"A katana?" Issun pondered before Tachigami roared as he broke the bindings on him apart as the trees vanished.

Megaman breathed out as he got into a drawing stance, closing his eyes as he gripped the hilt of the weapon. Tachigami noticed him moving before entering a drawing stance, his eyes focusing on Megaman. A moment of silence fell before the two's eyes shot open, unsheathing their blades as they both released a cutting wave, Megaman's leaving a trail of ice along the ground as it clashed with Tachigami's blood-red cutting wave. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion.

"Woah!" Issun yelped as he was nearly blown away from the resulting shockwave, "Easy with the cold! It might damage the Guardian Sapling!"

"...Crud he's right," Megaman muttered as he sheathed his sword, "Need something else to use without damaging the sapling."

=Told ya we needed to make a Battle Card for that Mad Dog guy=

"That would be even worse!" Megaman argued.

"Mad Dog?" Lyra Note repeated.

"Azrael from BlazBlue."

"Oh…Ohh…... _Ooh_ …" Lyra Note cringed before both cried out in pain as a horizontal slash appeared on their bodies, knocking them over.

"Sonia, if you have anything up your sleeve..now would be a good time to use it…" Megaman grunted out.

"I have no idea," Lyra Note replied.

 _ **"̢̛͘͘I̛͟ ̸̸̴̡t̸̛͘į̷̀͝r̛͞e͘͝҉͡ ҉̸͢͡ó̡͘͢͝f͡҉̢͡ ̶̡̕y̷͠o̴͞u̸̶͢͞͡ ͞͞a̵̶̢l̨̡̧̛͝l̛̀͜.͘͟ ̶́҉̀T̵͢͏̛h͡i̕͝͝҉ś͠ ̴̵́͢e̷҉̵͜͞n͞͞͡͞͝d҉̶̶͠͡s̡͏ ̕͠͝n̛͜͝ǫ̛w̶̴̡͘,̕͜͠"͝҉̶**_ Tachigami informed as he began to approach the two.

' _Gh...This is bad…'_ Megaman thought before something clattered on the ground, making him look down to see the box he had gotten with Sonia at the mall, _'I forgot I was carrying this…'_ he grabbed it while glancing at Lyra Note and then at the box, _'Please let there be something good…'_

Megaman opened the box before a white smoke erupted from it. Tachigami paused in his approach as the area shifted into a cloud-filled mountainous range. Above it all was a red sun, its light shining upon all.

"...Nande?"

Soft squeaks echoed from the box before a wooden scabbard popped out of it. Three pairs of eyes shined inside the scabbard before Tachigami grunted, barely parrying an ornate bright red broad sword with a red stone guard and handle...wielded by three pure white mice the size of Issun...all decorated with red swirls on their sides, a red circle on their foreheads, and tiny 'wings' growing out of their shoulders.

=...uh….what?= Omega-Xis slowly blinked.

"Tachigami's children!" Issun gasped before Tachigami jumped back as the sword with the three mice floated over to Megaman.

" _Thank you for letting us out,"_ the three mice spoke in unison, _"Before our father was captured, he hid we three inside of that box. His new form has us at a disadvantage, so we ask for your aid in rescuing him from his corruption, blue warrior."_

=We're fighting...with mice? ...Mice?= Omega-Xis questioned.

"...I know what it's like to lose a dad," Megaman replied, "If beating him will help save him, then I'll help."

" _Arigatou,"_ the three thanked before the one on the handle jumped onto Megaman's head while the two holding onto the guard latched onto the back of his hands as the blade forced itself into his hands.

 _ **"̴̢Y͏̶̵̨͘o̷͏̵̛ứ̷͝ ̷̛͢d̶̴͞͏a̛͘͜͝͏ŗ͜͝e͜͞ ̴͠ş̀҉t̵͠ŗ̵̷į̕͢͞k̸̴͘͜҉è̷̶ ͟ḿ̸͟͟͞e̵̵̕?̵͡ ̡̕͞A͜͝l̵̨͠l̸͢͝ ̶̕͘͜͡ó̀̀̕f̛̕͜ ͡͡ỳ̴̴̕o̶̸u͟͠͏ ̷͟ş̸̢̨͞ḩ̢͟͡ą̷̷̴ļ̢͢͠l͘͜͟ ͟͟f̡͜è̸̢̕e̴͡͏̶́l̡͝͝͞ ͢t͏͜͟ḩ͜e̡͞ ̶͝͞ç̶̷ò̵͢͠l̶͘d̷̷̢̢̕ ̡̀͢͡ś̢͘t̕͠҉ę̶e̢͜ļ̛̛͘͟ ̢̡̡̀͝ǫ̷̵͞f̶́́͡ ̴̕͢m̀͜͝͠͠y̕͏̢ ̷͘͝͡b͝l͟͢a͢͠ḑ̨̕͟͞é̴̵̴͟,̵̵̨́͘"҉̵̸̶̡**_ Tachigami scowled as he drew his blade.

The three mice glowed along with Megaman's eyes. Tachigami vanished before Megaman spun around, parrying the blade. The two then vanished and Lyra Note yelped as an impact of blades went off a bit away from her before another followed on the other side of the area. What soon followed was a myriad of sword impacts all over the area as the two blades kept colliding in their battle. After several seconds, the two appeared on other sides of the cloudy area. Tachigami sheathed his blade as Lyra Note pulled out her brush. The world turned back to sepia as Tachigami made a quick slash with the brush of his blade while Lyra Note made random dots around the corrupted Fudegami, a few directly on the red line. The world resume and Tachigami grunted as the trees appeared once more.

" _Now!"_ the three children of Tachigami called.

"Right!" Megaman agreed, "Battle Card Predation! Break Saber!"

A plasma outline appeared on the blade in his hands while a white energy spiraled around it in a drill formation. The Tachigami no Ko glowed once more as Megaman charged at Tachigami. He vanished before appearing a few meters behind Tachigami and the trees. For a moment, nothing appeared to happen. Then the trees collapsed, sliced diagonally through, as Tachigami cried out as he was split in two diagonally. The area faded back into the cavern as Tachigami collapsed, transforming into a bed of flowers.

"Is it over?" Lyra asked.

"Please tell me it's over…" Lyra Note begged.

"I'm...not sure," Megaman replied as the mice hopped off him and onto their once more floating blade.

=I hope for another round!= Omega-Xis beamed before a light began to shine above them =Round 2?=

They looked up to see the night sky above them. In it, a constellation was revealed resembling a mouse with a long tail in a circle. There were five blue stars and one red one in it. The Tachigami no Ko on the top of the handle waved its tail and the red star was sliced in two. To Lyra Note, she had briefly seen the world turn sepia with a line made over the star.

"Sonia," Lyra spoke, "The brush."

"Hai," Lyra Note replied as she pulled the brush out.

The world turned sepia for her once more. She raised it up and 'tapped' the sky where the red star had been. Putting it back away, the ink dot turned into a blue star. The constellation shined brightly before the rea transformed once more back into the mountainous cloud-filled area. A white mouse with feathery 'wings' growing out of its shoulders and a long feathery tail landed, a tiny scabbard with a blade in it going diagonally across its back, and red swirls on its upper sides and a red ring on its forehead. Omega-Xis appeared beside Megaman.

"Aw come on. He's so tiny. What can he…" Omega-Xis snorted before Tachigami grabbed the handle with his teeth and pulled out a massive blue sword with two holes near the bottom of the blade and a red tassel on the end of the hilt, "..." Omega-Xis' head slid off his shoulders before he caught it, "...Okay...Tiny is mighty with this guy."

" _Well, well, well... If it isn't mother Amaterasu. It's been a long time,"_ Tachigami greeted, looking at Lyra Note.

" _Grandmother?!"_ the trio of mice yelped, _"Gomen nassai! We did not notice you at all, Grandmother Amaterasu!"_

"...Eto...well…" Lyra Note began.

" _Hmm...soka...it seems you've lost your powers since we've last met…"_ Tachigami noted, _"That explains how difficult it was for you to take me on and having to resort to receiving aid from my children to heal me from my corruption."_

"How did you end up corrupted?" Megaman asked.

" _When we defeated Orochi and part of Nipon split from the backlash of his slaying, its tainted soul was able to infect several Fudegami that you, Mother Amaterasu, had already met, myself included,"_ Tachigami explained, _"We were able to keep the corruption at bay...until the native language and its history began to fade away in the minds of all. As that happened, people forgot about the Kami and our powers weakened until we could no longer hold back the corruption."_

"Weakened?" Megaman repeated.

"Kami gain their power through belief," Issun explained, "The more that people believe in them, the stronger they become. Even if Amaterasu-sama has reincarnated, the belief people have in her as she is now is thankfully why she has not lost strength but the loss of belief in the Fudegami has made the connection to those powers fade and forgotten to her most likely."

" _That is true,"_ Tachigami confirmed before smirking at Lyra Note, _"If there is anything I can do to assist you in your endeavors, I'm at your service once more. Make good use of this sword, as it was designed to conquer evil."_

" _Onii-sama,"_ Megaman looked to the three children, _"Thank you so much for helping save our father. Your weapons are powerful and we could feel it when you infused one into our sword...however, the creatures of darkness that you are combating will only grow stronger. We wish to bless you with what we can."_

"Thank you," Megaman nodded.

The mice glowed before collapsing into two spheres of multicolored light. Within both, a kanji appeared.

" **斬** **(Zan/Slash)** ," Lyra Note read before the spheres entered her chest and into Megaman's VG Hunter, the area flashing once before turning back into the cavern.

"Whoo-hoo! Misora-tenshisama, you've got Power Slash now!" Issun cheered, his radiation once more a bright green, "Oh! We need something to try it on!" he looked around before seeing the boulder blocking the water, "Got it! Misora-tenshisama! Try making a line through the boulder with your brush!"

"Hai," Lyra Note replied with a nod.

She pulled out her brush and the world turned sepia once more. She turned towards the boulder and held up her brush to it. She made a horizontal line across the boulder before putting her brush away. The sepia changed back to normal and the sound of a blade slashing something echoed. The boulder creaked before the top half slid off its lower half, exposing a hole that erupted with a blast of water. The two EM Wave humans moved to the sides as the water shot out and into the indent in the ground, filling it up into a pond with the Guardian Sapling on a tiny island in the middle. It twitched a few times before quickly growing into a large tree without anything on the branches.

"Yatta! That's it!" Issun cheered.

=...Please tell me we can do that, too= Omega-Xis begged.

"No idea," Issun shrugged, "May need to get a brush and see."

Lyra Note pulled the brush out once more as she looked at the Guardian Sapling. She made a circle in the sepia world overlapping the top of the Guardian Sapling before putting her brush away once more. The Guardian Sapling blossomed almost instantly. It glowed before releasing a pulse. The pulse gave way into an expanding field of greenery and flowers that restored everything within the cavern before shooting down the tunnel. The instant it touched the poisoned water, it was purified instantly. As it moved on, the black and red mists were forced to disperse, allowing everything absorbed to regrow instantly until everything was restored.

"...Wow."

"Haha! I knew you could do it, Misora-Tenshisama!" Issun beamed.

"Arigatou," Lyra Note giggled.

 ***ba-BUMP!***

"?!" Lyra Note stumbled as a sharp pain raced through her and Lyra.

"Not again…" Lyra groaned before Lyra Note collapsed.

"Sonia!" Megaman gasped.

"Ahh! What happened?!" Issun panicked.

"What does it look like!?" Omega-Xis snapped as he formed, tape around his neck, "She fainted, much like the first time!"

"...First time…" Megaman repeated before it hit him, "...She's changing again."

"Changing?" Issun repeated.

=Hey~! Anyone hear me~?=

"Ace!" Megaman gasped.

=Ah, finally! The interference is gone. Situation report?=

"We found a Guardian Sapling and another Fudegami and his kids," Omega-Xis snorted, "Now Sonia and the Out-of-tune Harp collapsed again after the mouse gave her a new brush technique."

=Bring her here= Ace ordered.

"Gotcha. You may want to prepare some ice and wet rags."

=Why?=

"Because things are about to get burning hot…literally."

=Oh come on. It can't be that bad=

* * *

"Okay, it's that bad," Ace cringed as they had multiple fans and ice-based Wizards spraying cold winds on a burning hot Lyra Note who was having to be laid outside of the base since her body's radiating heat had melted the observation table she had been put on.

"Atsui…" Lyra Note moaned.

"She's saying it's hot," Issun translated when Geo and Ace looked at him.

"Her genetics are altering along with Lyra's radiation at an accelerated rate," Goodall noted, looking at a floating digital screen that was displaying an outline of Lyra Note and Lyra in her guitar form, "This change is most likely the reason why her body's releasing so much heat." a loud rip and shattering noise made them look at Lyra Note, "...Huh. That's interesting."

Lyra Note panted as her body started to cool down. Groaning, she rolled over...letting her large white wolf tail ending with a black tip wave a little as the two white wolf ears poking out of her broken helmet twitched.

"...Di….Did she just...grow a tail and ears?" Ace asked while he slowly blinked.

"...Does...not...compute…" Acid sputtered.

"Urufumimi~" Issun groaned as he fell over, his radiation a bright pink aside from a trail of bright red radiation coming out of his nose.

Lyra Note groaned again as she lost Wave Change, revealing the ears and tail still on her with the back of the upper half of her pants torn to let it be free. Closer inspection revealed that her human ears were completely gone, showing no trace of even existing. Lyra, meanwhile, had turned a pure white in coloration as her radiation had become a brilliant red. Slowly, Lyra was the first to get up.

"Ow...I thought that first time was the only time…" Lyra admitted as she started floating up a bit, "Is that gonna happen everytime we recover some of...of...what's everyone staring at?"

"...Shutting down…" Acid sputtered as he plopped over, his head smoking.

"Seems I need to tinker more with Acidna," Goodall admitted.

"Heh-heh-heh. Guess you're easy to scare, ya out-of-tune harp," Omega-Xis joked.

"Nani?" Lyra pondered as Ace held up his VG Hunter to her, letting her see herself in the reflective surface, "What happened to my colors?!"

"Most likely thr same reason Sonai over there now as wolf ears and a tail," Ace answered.

"...N..nandekore?" Lyra blinked as she looked over at Sonia, "... _EH_?!"

"Mmm...t-too loud…" Sonia mumbled as she began to sit up, opening her eyes, "Ite...I felt like my bones were melting…"

"Sonia…" Sonia slowly looked over at Lyra, "Whatever you do...don't...look...in...anything reflective."

"Nani?" Sonia pondered, her tail twitching a little in confusion.

"Ya know she's gonna see it," Omega-Xis snorted.

"Omega-Xis, don't you…" Lyra began.

"GRAAAAAAWR!" Omega-Xis roared as loud as he could.

"ITE~!" Sonia yelped, falling over and grabbing her wolf ears, "Too l….n...nani?" she blinked as she slowly rubbed her wolf ears, "?!" she lowered her hands to where her humans ears should've been and felt nothing there, "..." she slowly turned to the others, "...minna..."

"3...2….1…" Omega-xis began before Sonia finally felt her new tail.

"...Geo-kun, please tell me that isn't what I think it is…" Sonia begged.

"Um...uh...it, uh…"

"Ya got ears and a tail," Omega-Xis snorted, earning a slap to the back of the head from Ace...knocking his head off, "Aw come on! Stupid mouse!"

"...NANI?!" Sonia freaked, her tail shooting straight up.

"BAKAINU!" Lyra snapped.

* * *

 _GT: Well...Was not expecting that to happen...and we wrote it._

 _SZ: YUp...so now Sonia has Tachigami's power….and ended up getting a pair of wolf ears and a tail._

 _GT: And…*pokes Issun with a stick* ...Yeah. He's out of it. Cute girl with ears and tail equals knockout._

 _SZ: Eeyup...anyway...that's all for now, and sorry for teh late upload again. Been busy..and prepping for another 5k run tomorrow._

 _GT: *nods* Hope everyone liked the chapter. Make sure to read and review please! And cheer on SZ for his 5K Run!_


	7. Painting 7

_SZ: Welp...Megaman 11's coming along nicely._

 _GT: *giggles excitedly as the countdown for Spyro ReIgnited continues down* I saw a video on YouTube for the demo at E3. So awesome~_

 _SZ: Oh yeah...makes me wonder what Nintendo has in store for E3...aside from Smash Bros of course. But aside from that…*giggles excitedly at the countdown for KH3* I can get it after my birthday~!_

 _GT: Very nice._

 _SZ: Oh yeah._

 _GT: Not surprised Frozen was put into KH3. I mean, do you remember how long it was in theaters?! I think it was in them for six months!_

 _SZ: Yup..and it grew popular REALLY fast_

 _GT: I blame the earworm songs...Though I'm more excited for several days from now when New Gundam Breakers comes out. I am SO gonna buy that game so I can show people the Gunpla I've wanted to make but lack the extra copies of Gunpla kits to make it and still display the originals. *sees the reader* Oop. Uh...Hi, everyone. So...E3 is happening, so...we're gonna have another breather chapter._

 _SZ: Eeyup, so expect some me gaming fun..but what games will be chosen this time? You'll have to find out..but before we begin, description!_

 _GT: Disclaimer. We own no one but OCs. All games and series in the story are owned by their respective companies. Now then…*hangs up a sign reading 'Grimlock weak'* ...Yeah, no. *takes it down before putting up 'This curtain called Gnasty Gnorc ugly.'* There we go. *walks off* SZ, best get outta here._

 _SZ:...WHY?!*runs off*_

 _*meanwhile in Gnasty Gnorc's lair*_

 _Gnasgty Gnorc:_ UGLY _?! THAT DOES IT! *smacks the butt of his staff on the ground*_

 _*back at the studios*_

 _*stage is hit with a green light, turning it into a statue*_

* * *

"Umph!" Sonia grunted as she fell flat on her face into the padded flooring, "...mmmmmm…"

"It seems she'll need time to adjust to her new center of gravity," Ace noted.

"Quite interesting. Her body's been altered on a genetic level that it seems as if she's always had those ears and tail," Goodall noted, looking at a screen.

"Come on...just..stand…" Sonia muttered as she got back up, trying to keep her balance before she fell onto her butt, "...Mmm~~!"

"Heh-heh-heh-heh…" Omega-Xis chuckled, "I'm enjoying this."

"Baka!" Sonia snapped, swiping with her brush.

"GAH!" Omega-Xis yelped as his head was sliced off yet again before Lyra punched it away from them, "Aw come on!" his body began to search around, "Hey! Hey! Over there! No, no, not over there! Over here!"

"...I'm enjoying this," Lyra smirked.

"I'm not..." Sonai muttered, "Mmm...I just want to stand like normal again, awo!" she quickly covered her mouth as her tail shot up.

"Did...did you just howl?" Geo asked.

"I...I hope not ,awo.." Sonia whispered before tensing again, "I did it again, awo! ...Mmm~!"

=Considering your new additions to your body, it can be speculated that your mind was slightly altered to handle the new and/or replaced nerves=

"Excellent deduction, Philly," Goodall noted.

"Did you download her into your VG Hunter?" Issun asked.

"Of course. She's a wonderful assistant."

"...So she's saying I'm slowly turning into a wolf?!" Sonia exclaimed.

"No, no, no," Goodall assured, "It's just a minor alteration, a sort of verbal tic that appears when you become stressed."

"...Mmm~" Sonia whined like an actual dog as her ears drooped.

"One more thing: how are ya gonna hide the fact she's got ears and a tail now?" Omega-Xis asked, "Aw come on, body! That's a trash can, not me!"

"...The headless mutt has a point," Issun spoke, "...Unless she can hide them under a straw hat!"

"...Why a straw hat?" Geo asked as everyone looked at the one-inch EM Being on the counter.

"To give her ears room, and make people think it's part of her attire."

"...Actually that's not a bad idea," Lyra admitted, "And even if the straw hat is gone, people will think she's trying to go for a new look for her concerts."

"We could always ask someone to work on making Solid Waves in the form of animal ears and tails," Ace added.

"...You just want to see that gal you're dating with ears and a tail," Omega-Xis deadpanned...before yelping as Ace discreetly punted him away just as his body was about to grab his head, "Dammit!"

"Mmm...I just wanna get my balance back~!" Sonia complained.

"...well…" Geo began before his VG Hunter went off, "...That must be Dr. Boreal."

"Geo-kun, don't you d…"

"Browse."

=Hey, Geo! I just managed to finish going through all that game data you sent me!= Aaron beamed.

"Really?"

=Yup! Head on over and give them a try!=

"...We'll be there," Geo nodded as he looked over at Sonia, "Hey, I think I know how to help you relax and get your balance back."

"...eh?" Sonia blinked, her ears twitching a bit.

"Take her out, Geo," Goodall assured, "I've got enough data to look over from the scans of the two."

"Can do."

"Sweet! Hope there's more fighting games involved!" Omega-Xis beamed before seeing something and frowned, "...Seriously, body? That's a plant!-!"

* * *

"Um…"

"Yes?" Geo asked, giving Sonia a piggyback while she was wearing a set of pink pajamas with blue jays printed on it...with a hole cut in the pants for it to let her tail be free.

"Is Sonia trying out something new?" Aaron asked.

"I hate gravity," Sonia grumbled, her left ear twitching in annoyance.

"...anyway…" Aaron trailed off, hoping to change the subject, "I've finished setting up some games for the simulation. Hopefully, they'll run okay."

=Please tell me you got more fighting games on there, mainly that crossover game with BlazBlue in it!= Omega-Xis begged =I want to fight that Mad Dog!=

=...You want to fight yourself?= Lyra joked.

=SHUT IT, WOMAN!=

"Be nice to Lyra-sama!" Issun scolded, earning Aaron's attention.

"Oh, this is your new friend who had all that game data you gave me, right?" Aaron asked.

"Yo!" Issun greeted, "I'm Issun!"

"My name is Aaron Boreal. Nice to meet you, Issun," Aaron greeted with a smile.

=Yeah, yeah. Great to meet ya, now games!= Omega-Xis barked.

"Baka-Ryu, hush up!"

=Gnat!=

"Well...I did finish that one fighting game..."

=YES!=

"But, the roster is kinda incomplete for now...Something called 'DLC.'"

"The most vile thing in the gaming world, Boreal-hakase, the most vile thing in the gaming world. Right up there with Freemium games where you _have_ to purchase the stuff just to progress," Issun informed, "I'll get Phyllis to help you bypass that once I see Granny Goodall."

"Cool."

"Hopefully there's someone in that game I can chose...someone with no revealing clothing…" Sonia mutter to herself.

* * *

=Why didn't you go with Azrael, Geo?!=

"I don't want to be without a shirt...and he looks crazier than Solo on his bad days!" Geo argued, once more having selected Jin's outfit, "Ugh...who'd you end up choosing, Sonia?"

"Um, this girl named Ruby Rose," Sonia replied as she stood nearby, wearing a black outfit with a skirt and large red cape with hood on it, effectively hiding her ears and tail, "Though...the top is kinda tight…"

=...I wonder who our opponents are going to be?= Lyra pondered.

=Okay, in this game it's actually a two-VS-two battle system instead of the one I had to make from the last one= Aaron explained =The roster is interesting as well. It seems to be made with multiple game series and one cartoon series that was originally on the internet=

"Really?" Sonia blinked.

=Of course… In fact, it looks like of of the characters the randomizer ended up on is from that series your character is from= Aaron noted =And the second..huh. The squirrel girl again for her teammate…=

"...Hoo boy," Sonia gulped a bit at that.

=Risu-onna?= Issun pondered before Makoto and a silver-haired girl around 17 in a white elegant/combat dress with a revolver/rapier fusion weapon appeared across from them =ACK! WHOA~! Sugoi~~~! Must... _paint_!=

"Perverted gnat."

=Perverted gnat that knows how to mute you and get ya stuck in the VG Hunter…=

"WHAT WAS THAT?! ...Wait...ha! You just referred yourself as a perverted gnat!"

=Eh?! You…=

 **=CAN'T ESCAPE FROM CROSSING FATE!=**

"Oh no," the two teens noted with pale faces as the squirrel girl and rapier holder assumed fighting stances.

 **=FIGHT!=**

"HAH!" Makoto roared as she shot out with a punch at Sonia.

"Eep!" Sonia yelped as she quickly dodged, becoming a blur as a trail of rose petals were left in her wake.

"...Rose p-" Geo began before quickly blocking a strike from the rapier wielder.

"Huh...wonder what caused that scar on her eye…" Omega-Xis pondered, seeing a scar over one of her eyes, "Looks like from a sword."

The rapier wielder said nothing as she hopped away from Geo. She closed her eyes as a white glyph appeared in the air before her. Geo sheathed his sword before drawing it fast, sending a freezing crescent at her. The rapier wielder's eyes snapped open as the glyph changed to a black color, the cutting wave stopping once it hit.

"...Oh that can't be good," Geo whispered.

"Ya think?" Omega-Xis deadpanned as the cutting wave was suddenly propelled back towards them.

"Geo, l-" Sonia began before yelping when Makoto tried punching at her again.

"Sorry. No hard feelings," Makoto apologized.

"Focus on the plan!" the rapier wielder called out.

"Right! The plan! I...uh…" Makoto blinked, "...What's the plan again, Weiss?"

"Are you kidding me?!"

=I snuck in the video data for the shows these girls were in with the game data to help him make better AI= Issun explained.

"So they act almost like their counterpart," Geo noted.

=Yup..also, you might want to dodge=

"Dodge?" Geo repeated before grunting out when Weiss delivered a series of fast stabs on him before jumping back and stabbing her rapier into the ground, sending out a wave of ice at him, "Whoa!" he yelped while jumping out of the way, "She's got ice powers, too?!"

=Mostly. She uses something called 'Dust' in her rapier, letting her use different elements, mostly ice based stuff= Issun explained.

"...Geo, we gotta convince your mom not to dust so we can swipe it!" Omega-Xis declared.

"Yeah, good luck with that, especially when a dusting tool is on sale on the shopping channel," Geo deadpanned.

"Dang it!"

"Ahh!" Sonia yelped when she was sent rocketing back, "Mmm...how does this Ruby girl hold this Scy-" she began before pulling something, causing a shot to fire from the scythe, "...I...is...is this a _gun_?"

=Yeah...The majority of the weapons from this series from what I've been watching? They're almost all part-gun= Aaron noted.

"Seriously?!" Omega-Xis exclaimed at that, "Geo, why didn't you go with a character from that RWBY series?!"

"Because there was only four and they were all girls!" Geo argued.

"Seriously?"

=Yeah...aside from a few exceptions, the majority are indeed girls in the series= Aaron noted =At least, from what I've watched=

" _SERIOUSLY?!_ " Omega-Xis gawked, "God...damn it! Why does the cool stuff always go to the girls?!"

"...What's that supposed to mean?" the four girls there asked with frowns.

"...The perverted gnat said it."

=Wait, what?= Issun asked.

"No...you were the one who said it, baka-inu…" Lyra frowned.

"...uh...Aaron? Got another game for us?!" Omega-Xis quickly asked.

=Oh? I thought you wanted to play a fighting game, Mega= Aaron teased.

' _Not when the AI is this smart!'_ Omega-Xis thought, "I do, but...maybe something else for a change of pace?"

=...hmm...fair=

* * *

"Okay…" Geo looked at himself in a somewhat rusty reflective sheet of metal...seeing he was some sort of humanoid animal, "What are we?"

"I don't know," Sonia replied in the same state as him but with her tail and ears still the same.

=Lombaxes=

=Yep! I think this is the game based off the movie based off the game= Issun added =It was a real blast to play with Skye=

"...Question...why am I a small robot?" Omega-Xis asked, attached to Geo's back in the form of a tiny cobalt robot.

"'Why _are_ _we_ small _robots_ ,' Omega-Xis," Lyra corrected, attached to Sonia's back.

=Defective war robots= Aaron informed.

"Oh...wait. _DEFECTIVE_?!" Omega-Xis snapped.

"So what do we do?"

=Explore alien worlds, win hoverboard races, and blow up the enemy with all kinds of neat weapons!=

"...What kind of weapons?"

=Well...find out as you test them on those warbots and Blaarg=

"Blaarg? What's a bl-" Sonia began.

"Get the Lombaxes!"

"Duck!" Geo yelped, tackling Sonia over before plasma shots went right where their faces had been.

"What just…?!" Sonia began as she looked up, seeing red-skinned alien-like creatures and some bulky robots firing at them, "?!"

"...Geo, hand me a weapon. Time for me to kick some ass!" Omega-Xis declared.

=Uh-uh-uh~, Omega-Xis= Aaron responded =You are actually the one that hands Geo the weapons=

"What?!"

=Considering this is a test run, you do have access to all weapons current available at this time=

"I don't know what we even have!" Geo argued.

"Any would do!"

"Let's see...we have um…" Lyra brought up a screen, "A Sheepinator?"

"A what?" Geo blinked.

"Says it turns enemies into….sheep?" Sonia blinked.

"...Sheep?" Omega-Xis repeated before the two teens yelped while ducking under laser fire, "Okay! Sheep is good!"

"Agreed!" Geo nodded as he and Sonia pulled teh weapons out, firing them at the aliens before they turned into some sheep while the robots dodged the incoming blast.

"It didn't work as fast on the robots!" Geo yelped.

"I'll see if I can…!" Sonia began before Lyra stopped on another weapon, "...The RYNO?"

"The RYNO?"

"Oh, I like it," Omega-Xis grinned as he pulled it up, "'Rip You a New One! Oh, I like acronyms that result in smackdowns. Geo, we are definitely making a Battlecard based off this!"

"Let's just see what it does first," Geo sighed a bit as he and Sonia pulled said weapon out.

=?! They got RYNOS! Run!= one of the robots freaked as they began to run...but never got the chance once Geo and Sonia pulled the triggers.

Omega-Xis choked back some tears as the air was filled with fireworks, explosions, pleas for repairs, and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, "So...beautiful~"

"Oh sweet Kami…" Lyra whispered with wide eyes.

"...Geo...we are DEFINITELY making a Battlecard of this!" Omega-Xis excitedly declared.

"Ano...Boreal-san? Can we switch to a different game before Omega-Xis faints from over excitement...or makes us go gun crazy?" Sonia asked.

"Oh-hoh-hoh~! So many explosives~" Omega-Xis was completely giddy, "Wait, wha? Groovitron?"

=Oh wait don't u-!=

"Eh?! D...dancing?!" Sonia exclaimed once the Groovitron was released, causing everyone and everything to dance.

"Next game, please!" Geo pleaded.

* * *

"...Are school?" Sonia pondered while she blinked.

"It...kinda looks like t

"What?! What game is this?!" Omega-Xis barked, "...Please tell me it's one of those zombie survival games."

=Actually...from the looks of it, it's an educational game= Aaron explained =Seems innocent enough=

"Edu-WHAT?!"

=Oh? Educational game? ...Yeah, Baka-Ryu's gonna need to be quiet or they'll lose every question= Issun noted.

"...He's not wrong there," Lyra giggled.

"Oh screw you both! I'm pretty smart!" Omega-Xis snapped.

"Oh geez…" Geo groaned.

=...know what? I'm not gonna regret this=

"Eh? What's that supposed t-" Omega-Xis began.

"OH. HI! WELCOME TO MY SCHOOLHOUSE."

"JEEZE-US!" Omega-Xis yelped as the two teens spun around to see a poorly rendered human with just a single strand of hair in a green long-sleeved shirt and blue pants, "...Uh...Did somebody leave a hobo in the school?"

"NOW IT'S TIME FOR EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE SUBJECT...MATH!" the man declared.

"Doesn't seem too bad," Geo noted.

"Math? Do we _have_ to?" Sonia whined.

"..." the man slammed a heavy notebook on the desk before the two, "ANSWER THE THREE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY AND YOU MIGHT GET SOMETHING _SPECIAL_!"

"...Okay…" Sonia meeped, her ears going down as her tail curled up into her hands.

"QUESTION 1: 8 PLUS 2 EQUALS...?"

"Ten," Geo replied.

"GREAT. QUESTION 2: 0 MINUS 9 EQUALS…?"

"Negative nine?" Sonia guessed before squeaking when he popped up in her face.

"GREAT. QUESTION 3: !#nr n#b $ntn $t $nt PLUS ewngwnrgengsensethn TIMES eatngagnsgmmg EQUALS…?"

"...What?" Geo and Sonia slowly blinked.

"How's anyone supposed to answer that?!" Omega-Xis complained.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION…"

"I got your answer right here!" Omega-xis retorted as he formed, using one hand to 'crank' something as he began to flip him the bird, "Oh, what's that? Sorry...that's what just happened."

=...Oh, he shouldn't have done that= Aaron noted, a cringe even evident in his voice.

=...Why…?= Lyra slowly asked as the man began to frown.

The man moved to behind the teacher's desk. He ducked down...before coming up with a three yard ruler.

"I~'m about to whip somebody's ass~" the man sang, smacking the ruler repeatedly in his free hand.

"WHAT?!" the two teens yelped.

=Oh...I think I put you in one I was still working on debugging= Aaron noted.

=Let's all agree...The Baka-Ryu's fault=

"What?!" Omega-Xis declared before seeing the man smack the ruler on a desk, splitting it in two, "...Geo...Sonia...Out of tune harp, never let anyone know I said this."

"Eh?"

"RUN!" Omega-Xis freaked as he bolted out of there.

"SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN!" Sonia pleaded as they ran after Omega-Xis.

=I can't! It's locked until you either find six more notebooks or Baldi catches you!=

"Who's Baldi?!"

=The guy chasing you=

"Oh now you tell us?!" Geo exclaimed before blinking, "...This is a scary game, isn't it Issun?!"

=I just realized that myself= Issun replied =Never played it and Skye never showed me it=

"I'm gonna murder you, gnat!" Omega-Xis snapped as they turned a corner, "...Door! Let's hide there!"

=Wait. I wo...= Aaron began as Geo tried to open that door, earning Baldi's attention as he appeared from around the corner =...Every wrong answer you get, he becomes more sensitive to noises, such as opening doors=

"Oh now you tell us!" Sonia complained before yelping at the glare Baldi gave her and Geo, "...m-matte! Please d-"

Baldi said nothing as he….SLOWLY started approaching them, slapping the ruler in his open hand, "I'm gonna kick your ass, m'kay?!"

"..."

"He's...kinda slow, isn't he?" Omega-Xis asked.

=At first, yes. But every wrong answer you get, he gets faster=

"...in that case, Geo...Sonia..out of tune harp, let's find those pagies while slow ass here tries to get us!" Omega-Xis declared as he ran off.

"Bye~" Sonia waved as she followed.

"...Shit!" Baldi cursed.

"This feels too easy…" Geo muttered as they ran.

"WOW! I WANNA PLAY!"

"What was that?" Lyra pondered before a poorly drawn child in a red dress approached them, holding what seems to be a jump rope.

"I WANNA PLAY WITH SOMEONE~!"

"Uh...sorry little...girl?" Geo guessed before shaking it off, "But we don't have time."

"... _YOU ARE GONNA LIKE IT_!"

"...okay," Sonia squeaked as Geo's arms wailed wildly as he lost oxygen in a pair of hills.

* * *

"LET'S PLAY AGAIN!" the girl beamed as Geo and Sonia were jumping over a white rope, both Omega-Xis and Lyra holding both ends..

"How many...do we...need to do…?" Geo panted out.

=Normally it's five, but...uh oh. Baldi's heading your way=

"Aw come on!" Omega-Xis exclaimed, unintentionally tugging the rope and causing the two to fall over.

"WELP, YOU MESSED UP! NOW YOU HAVE TO START OVER AGAIN!"

"Eh?!" Sonia exclaimed as Baldi slowly approached the group, only Geo and Sonia weren't jumping.

"...JUMP! JUUUUMP! DO IT YOU BITCH, DO IT!" the girl demanded.

"..."

"...Omega-Xis?" Lyra spoke, earning his attention, "Normally I don't condone violence against kids...but just this once, I'm letting it slide."

"...WHOOOOOOO!" Omega-Xis cheered before tying the jump rope into a lasso and lassoed the little girl, "HEY, BALDI! LET'S PLAY JUMP ROPE!"

Baldi stopped for a moment as Omega-Xis began to spin the little girl around, ignoring her screams as he let go, letting her rocket towards Baldi...only for him to side step as she hit a trash can, causing it to fall over.

"...Oh shit…" Baldi cursed nervously.

"...why don't I like the sound of th-" Geo began.

" _ **Hey hey hey~"**_ a voice echoed within the halls.

" **LOOKS LIKE IT'S SWEEPING TIME!"**

"GAH!" Sonia and Geo screamed as a giant broom charged down the hallways right at them, rapidly and quickly repeating 'gotta sweep sweep sweep!' over and over.

"DODGE!" Omega-Xis yelped as the four jumped against the wall, causing the broom to push Baldi away.

"...YATTA! Eat it, Baka! W-" Sonia began in her cheer.

"no speaking japanese in the halls…"

"Hmm?" the two looked over to see a man in a dark-grey shirt looking at them.

"no pets, games, and glasses in school...no being japanese in the halls…"

"...Say what?" Omega-Xis asked before a frying pan smacked them all in the face.

* * *

"your parents will hear about this one…" the man said as he tossed Sonia and Geo into a room...while tossing a caged Lyra and Omega-Xis in next, "detention for you...you should know better."

"We gotta get outta here!" Omega-Xis shouted.

"...Anyone beside me feel this game is a bit racist…?" Sonia asked with an eye twitch.

"Aside from this school being absolutely coo-coo crazy?" Geo deadpanned.

=Normally there's a countdown between 15 and 99 seconds= Aaron explained =But, uh...It's not popping up=

=Just throw Baka-Ryu at the guy. That should make things nice= Issun noted.

"HEY!"

=...Actually...that's not a good idea=

=Eh? Why not?= Issun pondered as Aaron whispered something to him =...oh….oh….uh oh=

"What? What's 'uh oh?'" Omega-Xis asked.

=Don't let Baldi catch ANY of you, otherwise...well there's this rumor where if he catches you...you become stuck in the game...FOREVER, 'relearning' everything about math= Issun explained.

"..."

=In your guys' case...think a permanent coma...or with your partners...deletion, or reprogrammed into the game as part of it= Aaron added.

"...Dr. Boreal…" Geo began.

=I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!= Aaron apologized quickly as Omega-Xis got out of his cage.

"Let's jump out that window!" Omega-Xis suggested as he dove for an opened window, only to get slightly stuck, "...damn it! They're too small!" he pulled his head off and poked it through, "I don't see Baldi any…" he turned his head to see a...um...an orange potato with a deformed head and blue sticks acting as arms and legs, "...uh...Think you could open the door to detention for us?"

"Give me something great~~" the fat 'man' replied as he turned, revealing the words 'THIS IS A BULLY' hovering over his head.

"...Oh. Oh so you're gonna play th-" Imega-Xis began before tensing, seeing Baldi looked over from a nearby corner, "...HOLY SHIT! BALDI'S COMING!" he pulled his head back in and put it back on his shoulders, "Uh...uhh…" he spotted an apple, "Ah!" he grabbed it and threw it out to the bully, "How about this apple?"

"What? I DON'T WANT THAT," the fat 'man' replied.

"What?!" Omega-Xis exclaimed before grabbing Sonia's guitar and tossed it to him, "How about this?!"

"That's my guitar!" Sonia snapped.

"NO. I DON'T WANT THAT," the fat 'man' replied as he tossed the guitar back in, smacking it in Sonia's face.

"...And what exactly is wrong with my guitar?" Sonia frowned at that.

"It's lame and stupid," the fat 'man' stated.

"...HE DIES!" Sonia snapped.

"What does he want?!" Geo complained as Lyra held Sonia back.

"I'M VERY HUNGRY~ GIVE ME candy," the fat 'man' ordered.

"...mm...candy candy…" Lyra whispered as she frantically look around, having Geo hold back to currently annoyed/angry Sonia.

"I found gum under this desk!" Omega-Xis offered.

"Give it to him!" Lyra yelped as Omega-Xis tossed the guy out to the fat 'man'

"Thank you so much, you piece of shit!" the fat 'man' mocked as he ate the gum...only to gag as he fell over.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...I didn't know that would h-" Omega-xis began before Baldi jumped through the open window, causing him and Geo to let out a high-pitched scream.

"What do we do? What do we do?!" Sonia yelped, her anger now replaced with fear.

"Um...um...Ah! The Brush! Sonia, use the brush on the door!" Lyra yelped.

"...OH!" Sonia gasped in realization, quickly bringing the brush out as she made a slashing motion along the door, causing it to split in half.

"...You fuckin' son of a bitch…" Baldi cursed ,"YOU'RE GETTIN' SEVEN ACROSS THE ASS!"

"Yipe!" Geo yelped.

"Okay...that offends me more now that I've got these," Sonia frowned as she pointed at her tails and tail.

"Just run!" Geo called, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out and down the hallway.

"YER GONNA WISH YOUR MOTHER WASN'T SCARED OF ME!" Baldi threatened.

"YOUR OWN MOTHER'S SCARED OF YOU!" Omega-Xis barked back.

"Agreed!" Lyra shouted before bumping into a soda machine, causing a can to fall out.

=Quick, open and fire that at Baldi!= Aaron ordered =For some reason, he can't stand soda!=

"...roll with it," Lyra whispered as she picked the can up, shaking it rapidly before aiming it at Baldi, before opening it as it spurted soda out at him.

"MY EYES~!" Baldi screamed as he was sent rocketing down the hallway, "SO HELP ME GOD I'M GONNA SLAP YOU IN DA FACE SO HARD!"

"That should buy us some time.." Lyra whispered as she flew back to the others, "Now we gotta get those notebooks!"

"How?! He's gonna know where we are!" Omega-Xis complained.

"...I got an idea," Geo spoke up, "Aaron, is there a recorder somewhere nearby?"

=...oh, you are clever…=

* * *

"SO HELP ME GOD…" Baldi growled as he stomped down the hallway, looking for the four before he heard their voices from a nearby room, "SHUT YER MOUTHS! OR I'LL SHUT 'EM FOR YA!" he snapped as he ran over and opened the door...seeing nothing but a recorder.

=We're sorry, but we're not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep= Lyra's voice came from the recorder.

=And if it's you Baldi, fuck you!= Omega-Xis' voice laughed.

"RRRRRRR…!"

* * *

"Okay. And I think this seven," Geo sighed in relief as he grabbed a notebook before the PA system went off.

=CONGRATULATIONS, YOU FAILED ALL SEVEN NOTEBOOKS!= Baldi's voice came from the PA system.

"Wait, what?" Geo pondered before seeing Omega-Xis just scribbling in all seven, "Omega-Xis?!"

"What? He's an ass," Omega-Xis snorted.

=Now all you need to do is... _ **G̵̨͘͘͞E̢̨T̕͡ ̛́Ǫ͘͘͜U͏̢̨͏̵T̢̡ ̷̨Ẁ͏͜҉̶H̶̨I̴̶͏L̀̀͡È͏̛ ̶̧̡̡̕Y̶͢O̵̸̢̢͟Ư̷͞͡ ͟͢͢͝S̴T̶͟͞I͝͏͞L̴̶̡͞L̢̕͞ ̧́̀C̀͘Ą̵͡Á̷̕͘Á̴̕̕͟À̡̢͡A͢҉̨̛́A̷̢̨͘̕A̷͢Á̴͡͞A̕͜͡Ą̢́A͘͝͠Ą̶̴͝͡Ņ̧͜͜~̛͜~҉̡̛͢~̡͏̶͟҉~̶͘͘~̴́͞͞!͞͏҉̨-̵̷!̴̴-̷҉̴͢͏!́͢͟͝**_ = Baldi's voice screamed as everything became a blood red =...HAH-HAAAAAA~=

"...make for the exit. NOW!" Geo screamed as they began to run for the nearest exit, only for it to vanish, "HUH?!"

=There are three exits in the school and only one is real!= Aaron warned =Move fast! Baldi's coming at you!"

"Oh no!" Sonia yelped as they began to run, hearing the rapid slapping noise coming from down the hall.

"SCREW! THIS! GAME!" Omega-Xis snapped, "Gnat, I am SO gonna kill you for this!"

=How was I supposed to know this was a scary game?!=

"WE STILL BLAME YOU!" the four complained before a green blur ran past them, knocking them over.

=...uh oh…=

The four tensed as Baldi stared down at them, ruler in hand as he glared at them all.

"..uh...uh…" Omega-Xis gulped as she shivered, "...5 + 3= 8?"

"..."

"Omega...h-" Geo nervously began.

"AHA! YOU GOT IT!" Baldi beamed, the area chanGing back to normal before giving them all a medal with his face on them ,"GREAT JOB. YOU DID GREAT! YOU'RE INCREDIBLE!" he then turned around and waved at them, "Later~!"

"..."

"...Aaron-san...please get us out... _now_ , awo."

=Did you just...=

" _NOW_!" Sonia growled like an actual wolf.

=Yes, ma'am!=

* * *

"S...so...enjoy the games?" Aaron slowly asked, Issun nowhere in sight.

"We were...until THAT game came up!" Sonia complained, her red markings glowing a bit as she stomped over, "WHERE'S ISSUN?!"

"He sped off when I started the process," Aaron replied quickly.

"ISSUN, GET HERE RIGHT N-AAH!" Sonia roared before yelping as she fell on the floor, "...Stupid gravity…those games didn't help at all, Boreal-hakase!"

"S-sorry. I thought they'd help you calm down before that game came up!" Aaron yelped.

"Well what else am I supposed to do?! I don't know anyone else with these!" Sonia snapped as she pointed to her ears and tail.

"...Um...We could ask Wolf and his partner Damien," Geo suggested.

"They're out of town."

"Oh…"

"Mmm...I just want to balance like normal!" Sonia complained, "Ugh...I really wanted to relax~"

"...well, we could head back to the beach," Geo offered, "We never got a chance to relax after the whole incident over there, and...well the games didn't seem to help"

"...actually...the beach sounds good right now, awo…" Sonia admitted.

=It kinda does...let's just...no no. Not walking into that one= Lyra muttered.

* * *

"Ahh….who knew humans would have something this enjoyable~?" Vulpecula sighed a bit as she rested on a small part on the beach, wearing a form fitting black bikini as she had a few men fanning her, "Shame this would have to end soon…"

"Anything else you'd like, milady?" one of the men asked in a dazed tone.

"Hmm...you, bring me a drink," Vulpecula ordered him before pointing to another, "And you..show me the latest...fashions~"

"Yes, milady.." he nodded as he handed her a magazine.

"Hmm hmm hmm...Oh humans, it's funny to think that this is their idea of beauty.." Vulpecula chuckled as she looked through, "I...hmm?" she raised a brow as she came across an article, "...'The famed Snow Kyuubi Miyuki Nanaya arriving today for a special Q and A. See how she rose to popularity as one of the world's most popular women and top fighter in the UFFW, otherwise known as the Ultimate Femme Fatale Wrestling league.'...Oh how cute. Someone thinks they're a fox as well...but just to make sure…" she made a small whistle as a few Imps appeared, "Find this 'Snow Kyuubi' and mess with her. She wants to call herself a kyuubi, she needs to earn it."

The imps saluted as they ran off.

"Not like she'll succeed…" Vulpecula chuckled to herself before noticing the shadows move nearby, "...What is it, Karasu? Did another Fudegami get corrupted?"

"Apologies, but...it seems another fox similar to you was spotted nearby."

"Another fox?" Vulpecula repeated as she looked over, "...What do you mean? If it's another one of those fakes or that 'Snow Kyuubi', then don't worry. I have it in control…"

"...ice."

"Come again?"

"Ice was spotted near the locations this vixen was spotted."

"...Send some Imp out to investigate," Vulpecula ordered with a frown, "I think I have a good idea who this is…"

* * *

In the forest near the city, an ice blue and snow white blur ran past a few bushes, a few leaves freezing over as a fox-like figure hid within a nearby tree trunk, shivering a bit. The figure seemed a bit like Vulpecula in terms of appearance, only her waves were an icy blue color with her armor being a soft snow-white color.

"Wh...why did Master Cepheus send me here? Th...this place…." the vixen shyly and nervously whispered, her tail curled around her as she nervously looked around, "Scary…"

"Hello? Is someone there?"

"?!" the vixen tensed as she hid further, seeing a shaded figure kneel down, theri hat shadowing over her eyes.

"Oh. Shh...it's okay…" the figure softly assured in a female voice, lifting their head a bit to show a pair of soft, ruby red eyes staring at him, "I won't hurt you…"

* * *

 _SZ: Well..this is interesting._

 _GT: Very interesting indeed. And once more, a break chapter ends on an interesting twist._

 _SZ: Mmm hmm. But question is..who are these newcomers?" And what does Vulpecula have planned?_

 _GT: Only way to find out? Wait for the next chapter to come out and read it._

 _SZ: Yup, so read and review folks._


	8. Painting 8

_SZ: *giggles excitedly at the latest Smash bros game* so...many...characters...so...many...stages!_

 _GT: Someone's happy with Nintendo's E3 thing…_

 _SZ: As a fan of Smash bros...yes...yes I am._

 _GT: Aye. Well, I'm just happy since I just got some new Gunpla model kits including 00 Diver, his Ace Custom kit, and Gundam Fenice._

 _SZ: Oh yeah...and only a few days away from the X Legacy Collection..and I preordered it~_

 _GT: Good for you. The one preorder I have at the moment is taking it's sweet time. Then again, it is the Spyro ReIgnited Trilogy and it won't come out until September. And they just recently revealed the Tiki Springs level from Spyro 2 in a video. I am liking the redesigns so far._

 _SZ: Same...but we've delayed this long enough. Disclaimer...we don't own anything in this story aside from some OCs. GT? Care to start us off?_

 _GT: Yep. *puts up a sign reading 'I support Techno Baron and dislike the filthy wimpy Mermaids' on the curtains* And now...We run like mad._

 _SZ: ….*runs away*_

 _*Giga Mermaid erupts from the lake beside the stage and sees the sign. Frowns before blasting the curtains with a beam of magic from the gem on her head*_

* * *

"...mmm…"

=Now what, Sonia?= Lyra asked.

"...I can't decide…" Sonia muttered as she stood before a mirror in a sleeping gown while holding a pair of swimsuits on hangers, "This one goes good with my hair and eyes…" she moved a pink bikini with yellow frilly trimming, "...but this one seems to go better with...well...these…" she finished as her ears twitched and her tail waved a little as she held up a red one-piece swimsuit with a white trim, an oval hole with white trim on the bust area, and the back completely exposed.

=Yeah...It's been two days now and I'm still getting used to you having those= Lyra admitted.

"I think I'm getting used to them," Sonia noted, "But still...Which one would be better, Lyra?"

=I think I would have to go with the red one= Lyra replied after thinking for a moment =For one, it goes well with those new...er…'special Solid Wave items' on you. And two...you bought it yesterday while the other doesn't fit anymore with your growth spurt=

"Mou...I'm sure it can still fit," Sonia pouted, puffing her cheeks up.

=Perhaps, but it would be extremely tight and most likely snap after a few moments on you=

"...Fair point…" Sonia muttered, "...At least I'll be able to relax peacefully."

* * *

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" Issun cheered, bouncing around Geo's bedroom as the boy in question was packing a bag with sunscreen, sunglasses, and an extra pair of swimtrunks, "I love the ocean! It's so vast!"

=Yeah right...you only wanna see girls in swimsuits, perverted gnat= Omega-Xis snorted.

"Baka-ryu says what?"

=Gnat says what?=

"Oh goody! Baka-Ryu's learning!" Issun cheered.

=Whatever…= Omega-Xis scoffed =Least I can relax a bit after that whole Baldi situation…=

"And I told ya that I never played that game. Do you know how many games that were stored in that one single secret base? Thousands! And I was in Stasis for the majority of the time there!"

=I still blame you!= Omega-Xis snapped.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry!?"

=Until your voice box is destroyed!=

"I'm not a robot, Baka-Ryu!"

"Please stop arguing, you two," Geo sighed, "Remember that this is meant to help Sonia with trying to get her balance back."

=Speaking of, how come she was okay in the games?=

"Because it wasn't her physical body. Just a digital construct with a neural interface in the machine," Issun explained.

=...What?=

"Sonia and I only had our minds in the games, not our bodies," Geo surmised.

=Ahh...I see=

"And here I thought you got smart, baka-ryu," Issun snickered.

"Issun…" Geo spoke.

"Huh? Ye-WHOA!" Issun yelped as he was sucked up into the Star Carrier before Geo muted both devices.

"Should have thought of that several days ago…" Geo muttered.

* * *

"Whoo! Finally getting a day off," Ace grinned as he leaned back in his seat, wearing a black muscle shirt and black swim trunks with white and red lines on the sides.

=I'm still unsure of this= Acid spoke.

"Why? We're getting a day off. What's so bad about that?" Ace chuckled.

=Rogue EM virus', those 'demons' Go and Sonia have been facing...you slacking on the job…=

"Hey hey. I've earned this," Ace countered, "Besides, not like anything bad's gonna…"

=Incoming signal...unknown EM Being spotted within the area we're heading to. Frequency suggests it to be FM-Ian=

"Hmm?" Ace raised a brow at that.

=Dr. Goodall installed some recent information for me on a phenomenon known as 'Murphy's Law.' You appear to have invoked it= Acid informed.

"...And that's bad how?" Ace retorted.

=It is unsure if this unknown being is on our side or not=

"Hey. Just chill, man. We can worry about it later. Not like it's gonna attack or anything."

* * *

"Achoo!" the snow-fox like EM being sneezed a bit, resting on a chair as it shook its head, "S...sorry."

"It's okay. Someone might be talking about you," a female voice said as they walked into the room.

The person in question was a young woman around her early-mid twenties with soft cream-ish yellow hair done up in a ponytail held by a ice-blue hairband, her soft ruby-red eyes looking at the EM being as she wore an icy-blue bathrobe.

"...y...you think so?"

"I do," she nodded with a small smile as she sat down as she put on an ice-blue VG Hunter, "Still, it must've been cold for you out there."

"I..it's fine. I'm..used to the cold…" the EM being answered shyly, "St...still...th-thank you for keeping me safe miss...u-um…"

"Miyuki. And you are?"

"...I...d-don't have a name."

"Hmm?" Miyuki blinked at that, "You don't?"

"M...my sister said I don't deserve one...b-because i'm such a...wh-what did she call me...oh. W...wall flower."

"...Well that's not right," Miyuki frowned at that, "Let's fix that, shall we?"

"H...huh?" the EM vixen blinked a little as Miyuki took a good look at it.

"Hmm….you sound like a girl, and have an icy and snowy coloring to you…." Miyuki muttered, "Hmm...how about…Frost?"

"F...Frost?"

"Yes. It seems fitting, wouldn't you say?"

"...F...frost….I...like it."

"I'm glad you do," Miyuki giggled.

=Miss Miyuki, we need you for another photoshoot. This time it is at the beach= a voice called from the VG Hunter.

"...Mmm. I just got out of the shower, too…" Miyuki pouted before looking at the icy-blue VG Hunter, "Hmm…"

"Wh...what?" Frost asked.

"Would you like you like to come to the beach with me?" Miyuki asked.

"...I...is that okay?"

"It is," Miyuki nodded, "You can use my VG Hunter to stay in so you can stay close."

"...O...okay," Frost nodded before going into the VG Hunter.

"There we go," Miyuki smiled before walking to a nearby drawer, "Now...what to wear to go out…?"

* * *

"...I love the beach…" Issun whispered, his radiation pink with hearts made of it popping out of the top of his head.

=Oh brother…= Omega-Xis muttered as Geo, wearing a pair of red swim trunks with blue space detailing on the sides, finished setting the beach towel up.

"Looks like part of it's been blocked off," Geo noted as he looked towards the other half of the beach.

"It appears that way," a voice noted, causing Geo to spin around to see a young woman around Ace's age with her long blue hair pulled into two bangs framing her face and two long braids that had gold disks near the ends while she wore a purple and dark-green bikini, "Hello."

"Ms. Tia?" Geo pondered before smiling, "It's nice to see you again."

"Whoa~ Sugoi~" Issun awed, "She's like if Konohanasakuya-hime ever became a mortal~"

"Ace told me about your partner's son…"

=NOT MY SON!=

"Ignore him. Like I'd be related to a baka-ryu like him."

"'Idiot dragon?' Seems he's actually gone up from mutt," Tia noted.

"You understood him?" Geo asked in surprise.

"Ace gave me an updated Translator for my VG Hunter before inviting me to the beach for his day off today," Tia explained, "Amazing that you were able to find a dead Language, though I shouldn't be surprised by such given who you are."

"Oi, Subaru-san, who is this lovely Onee-sama?" Issun asked.

"My name is Tia, Queen Tia. You already know my boyfriend, Ace."

"Ah well," Issun sighed with a shrug, "Still doesn't take away that you're a beautiful Onee-sama, Tia-san. As such…" he whipped out his brush, a scroll, and quickly painted a portrait of her before enlarging it with his hammer, "A gift!"

"Oh my...very interesting. But...why is..."

=He's a perv= Omega-Xis bluntly stated.

"Baka-ryu."

"Do I have to mute you two again?" Geo questioned.

"No sir= both replied.

"Good," Geo nodded.

"...Where is Sonia by the way?" Tia asked, "I've been meaning to see her...ahem, changes."

"Well…" Geo began before something splashed down in the water.

"Ugh! Even in Wave Change!" Lyra Note snapped as she crawled out of the water, revealing her armor had changed to accommodate the wolf ears and tail she now sported while it had turned pure white with red markings going up the arms, outsides of the legs, on the heart-shaped armor over her breasts, and one on the center of her helmet.

"We really need today for relaxing," Lyra sighed, her guitar form a pure white with red markings in the same places they had formed on her normal body.

"...Huh. Interesting," Tia noted, "I was not expecting this to be honest."

"Tia-san?" Lyra Note pondered before dropping Wave Change once she was next to Geo, who immediately blushed once her saw her swimsuit when she stood up, "What brings you here?"

"Ace invited me," Tia answered.

"Oh...soka," Sonia noted before looking at the blocked off part of the beach, "...Any reason why that part's been blocked off?"

"I'm unsure," Tia replied before pondering a bit, "Perhaps it has to do with that photoshoot I've heard about recently."

"Photoshoot?" the two repeated.

"Something involving a famous female idol, miss...Nanaya I think."

"?!" Sonia tensed at that, "Nanaya...as in...Miyuki...Nanaya?"

"I believe so y-"

"KYA~!" Sonia beamed excitedly, her tail wagging like crazy, "SHE'S HERE?!"

=Oh my goodness! She's really here?= Lyra asked in excitement.

=Uh...info please!= Omega-Xis demanded.

"Miyuki Nanaya is one of the world's most popular models and female wrestlers!" Sonia exclaimed, "She's held the title for five years straight, and has been voted the world's most beautiful woman for five years!"

=Wrestler?=

=She goes by the ring name Snow Kyuubi, because much like the fox, she's a tricky opponent to deal with!= Lyra added.

"Huh?! Kyuubi?! She goes by a Japanese title?!" Issun exclaimed.

"Hai~!=

"...We may need to talk to her. See where she learned it from," Issun noted.

"Good idea."

* * *

"That's good, miss Kyuubi! Give me more of those sexy poses!" the cameraman exclaimed as he took some pics of Miyuki, who was wearing a from fitting light-icy-blue one-piece bikini as she did some poses, "Okay...we're good! Just need one more pic from ya: giving your famous phrase."

"Okay…" Miyuki nodded as she bent down towards the camera while making a heart shaped over her ample bust with her hands before giving a small wink, "Hope you're ready for the frozen heat, kyu~"

"PERFECT!" the cameraman beamed as he took some rapid photos, "Okay. We're good for today, Miss Nanaya. You can relax now."

"Okay good," Miyuki nodded as she stood up, grabbing a nearby bottle of water, _'Phew...I didn't realize it was gonna be this hot out today...maybe a relaxing day at the beach will do some good.'_

"Excuse me, Miss Nanaya?" Miyuki looked over to see a security guard approach, "There's some kids lookin' to talk to ya."

"Hmm?"

"They're waiting near your trailer."

"...Okay. I'll see what they want," Miyuki nodded as she began to leave the set, grabbing her VG Hunter as she did, _'Weird...wonder who they could be...most likely some fans.'_

* * *

=Sheesh...calm down…= Omega-Xis muttered as Sonia excitedly hopped in place, stars in her eyes as her tail wagged like crazy.

"Right, right, right," Sonia replied, taking in a deep breath before exhaling a bit...while her tail was still wagging almost as mad as before, "Gotta remember that no one really likes over excited fans…"

"I'm sure she'll understand once she hears us out," Geo assured, "At least...I hope."

=And knowing the gnat, he's gonna make a p-= Omega-Xis began before he was muted.

"I see you figured out how to mute a Wizard while they're in the VG Hunter," Tia noted, looking down at Issun.

"Yep!" Issun beamed, "Useful when I want to shut the baka-ryu up!"

=Which saves me heada...= Lyra began.

"Hello? Did you need me?" a voice asked.

"?!" Sonia tensed up, slowly turning to see Miyuki standing there.

"Ah…" Issun squeaked as his radiation seemed to fizzle out into a deep pink color before he fell off Geo's VG Hunter with several radiation-made hearts floating away from him.

"...Um...hello?" Miyuki spoke up, "I said d….wait…" she quickly noticed Sonia, "...Sonia Strumm?"

"H-Hai! I mean, yes!" Sonia replied quickly.

"Oh my. A pleasure to meet you," Miyuki greeted before glancing at Geo, "And you must be Geo Stellar, hm?"

"Um, y-yes, ma'am," Geo replied, "And this is Queen Tia, a friend of ours."

"A pleasure," Tia greeted before picking up the dazed Issun, "And I do apologize for Geo's companion, Issun. It seems the heat got to him."

' _More like the woman got to him…'_ Omega-Xis thought with a snort in the VG Hunter.

"It's fine," Miyuki giggled, "Been keeping an EM being I recently found in my VG Hunter to keep her safe from the heat."

"EM Being?" the trio repeated.

"Yes," Miyuki nodded before looking at her VG Hunter, "You can come out, Frost."

=...o...okay= a shy voice replied before the snow-vixen EM being formed, "H...hello."

=...AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!" Omega-Xis screamed, forcing himself out of the VG Hunter and speeding away as fast as he could _away_ from the vixen, "KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Huh/Eh?"

"Keep that masochist fox away from me!" Omega-Xis barked, hiding behind a fort made of random beach chairs and several umbrellas.

"Masochist….eh?" Miyuki repeated, blinking in confusion.

"I DO NOT WANT HOT WAX!"

"...Okay...I think Omega-Xis knows your friend," Geo noted.

"...You do?" Miyuki asked, looking over at Frost.

"N...no...not..personally...just...through my sister."

"YE SHALL NOT GET ME THIS DAY!" Omega-xis barked before blinking, "...wait...SHE HAD A SISTER?!"

"Wizard Off," Geo deadpanned as Omega-Xis was sucked back into the VG Hunter.

=GEO~! LEMME OUTTA HERE! I GOTTA FLEE!= Omega-Xis pleaded.

"...Lyra…" Sonia began.

=Don't look at me. This is the first time I've ever seen him like this= Lyra replied before coming out of Sonia's VG Hunter and bowed to Frost, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Lyra."

"...f….Frost," Frost replied shyly, hiding her face a bit behind her tail, "A...a pleasure…"

=DO NOT LET THAT ACT FOOL YOU! SHE MIGHT BE AS CRAZY AS MY EX!=

"Your what?" Geo repeated.

=YOU HEARD NOTHING ASIDE FROM HER BEING POSSIBLY CRAZY BANANAS LIKE VULPECULA-Oop!=

"...Vulpecula? _You_ dated _Vulpecula_?" Lyra asked, "...Oof...I think I should take back all those times I called you an idiot and just feel pity for you."

=DO THAT AND I'LL RIP YOU IN TWO!=

"Who's Vulpecula?" Tia asked.

"Well...she was the head of T&I back when Planet FM was still war-crazed," Lyra explained, "She uh….how do I put this lightly…?"

"SHE WAS INSANE! ESPECIALLY IN BED! S...so much...hot wax…= Omega-Xis shuddered.

"..." the four humans slowly looked at Frost, who was trying very hard not to look at anyone.

"M...my sister always did act like a...d...dom…" Frost whispered as she blushed a bit.

=...Though to be honest, I never heard about her having a sister...unless you're just as coo coo crazy=

"...she...referred to me as a mistake when I was made...nothing but a copy of her…" Frost whispered, "She even prevented me from having a name…just a number...0."

=She WHAT?!" Omega-Xis and Lyra gasped.

"M...mm hmm…" Frost nodded, "She...said a wallflower doesn't deserve a name."

"Lyra?" Sonia pondered.

"To be prevented from receiving a name is considered a horrible shame back on Planet FM. It means one is unworthy of anything and are confined to their homes or exiled from the planet," Lyra explained.

"...How cruel," Miyuki frowned at that, "No one deserves such a treatment, especially receiving it from your own family."

"...That actually brings something up," Lyra spoke up as she looked at Frost, "What are you doing here?"

"...H...his majesty ordered me to find my sister…"

=NOPE! NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE-NOPE! SO MUCH NOPE!=

 ***click***

"...Did...Did you just lock my VG Hunter, Mega?" Geo asked.

=I ain't going near that crazy lady again!=

"Wow. Someone that Omega-Xis is terrified of…" Lyra noted, blinking a few times, "That...That has never happened before."

"So much for a peaceful day at the beach," Tia noted, "Ace is going to be in for quite a shock when he arrives, I suppose."

"For quite a shock about what?"

"Eep!" Miyuki and Frost yelped as they jumped back a bit, seeing Ace leaning against the gate, "Ladies."

'...How...long were you standing there?" Geo asked.

"Long enough...and to deal with Acid telling me he told me so."

"About what?" Sonia asked.

=Murphy's Law=

"...You invoked Murphy?" Miyuki blinked before shaking her head, "Never...invoke Murphy…"

"I know I know, but hey. Nothing bad happened, r-" Ace began before some screams were heard, "..."

=...Murphy," Acid and Miyuki deadpanned.

"...Wait. That sounded like it came from the set," Miyuki realized with wide eyes, "Oh no…"

* * *

"What are these things!?" one of the crewmen freaked as the Imps were breaking and destroying everything in sight.

"I don't know, but they're ruining my set!" the cameraman snapped, "Oi! Stop that now!"

" **...#Q%?"** one of the Imps asked as it turned to another one.

" **^#* &#!HG #!-!"** the other Imp replied before whacking the cameraman with his flute while chasing him around.

"Ow! Ow! HELP!"

"Battlecard, Predation! Mega Cannon!"

A plasma shot covered in a white aura slammed into the pursuing Imp, causing it to blow up an collapsed, becoming a bed of flowers. The other Imps paused in their attacking and slowly turned to see Megaman, Lyra Note, and Acid Ace.

"Huh...So that's what those three did," Megaman noted, looking at his Mega Cannon that was sporting a white aura around the weapon.

"Psst! This way," the camera crew looked over to see Miyuki waving over at them, "Hurry."

"...You heard her! MOVE!" the cameraman screamed as he bolted out of there.

The Imps congregated together, loud voices arguing with one another in their huddle. After a few moments, they separated and the single Red Imp there inhaled deeply before whistling sharply at the water.

"...What are they doing?" Lyra Note asked.

"Most likely, calling a Sharknado," Acid Ace punned before getting shocked, "Ow!"

=That was bad and you know it= Acid deadpanned.

Several things erupted from water. Most of them resembled oversized koi wearing robes and geta with large wing-like fins on their backs they were using to fly above the sands. The only two that weren't like them were a pair of oversized hermit crabs. One was green with a shell resembling the upper half of a shark while the other was red with a shell resembling the lower half of a shark.

"Mukuro Kingyo!" Issun gasped.

"Goldfish Corpse?" Lyra translated.

"Don't let them grab you when you cut their wing fins off! They explode!" Issun informed.

"Explode?!" Megaman repeated.

"In that case…" Acid Ace began as he held his weapon up, "Let's fry these fish before they blow up."

 ***BBZT!***

=No…=

"This way please," Miyuki whispered as the camera crew ran past her, "Okay...that should be every b-"

" **M #R!"**

"Ahh!" Miyuki yelped as she jumped over a charging Imp, who ran into a dune of sand.

The Imp poked its head out, spitting some sand out before calling the other Imps over, pointing right at Miyuki.

=...E...eep= Frost squeaked.

"Ah! Miyuki-san, Frost-san!" Lyra Note gasped, "Hold on, I'll he-GUH!" she started to run towards them only to fall flat on her face, "...Stupid change in sense of gravity…"

Miyuki tensed up as the Imps charged right towards her, ignoring Megaman and the others as they attempted to grab her, only to miss each time as she jumped over each one, ducking under a few while doing a leg sweep or rising headbutt to the chin.

"Why are these things coming towards me!?" Miyuki shouted before grabbing the head of an Imp, getting it in a sleeper hold while giving another a drop kick.

=...That scent….uh oh…= Omega-Xis realized =I think Vulpecula sent these guys…and her sister is the target=

=Eh?! M-me?!= Frost exclaimed as Miyuki rammed her elbow into an Imp's face, causing it to stagger back a bit =Why m…..wait...nevermind. I...think I know…=

A Red Imp approached from behind Miyuki and prepared to bash her with its stringed instrument only for said instrument to be sliced in two just as it raised it above its head, letting the cut off larger half clonked it on the head. Lyra Note made another slash with her brush and the Red Imp screeched as it was bisected in two. The halves landed on the ground, turning into separate beds of flowers, while a large blue and purple tone resembling some sort of demonic fang landed between them.

"Oh! A Demon Fang! Nice~!" Issun beamed.

"Demon F-" Lyra Note began before yelping when one of the koi-like demons tried attacking her with ones of its fins, "M-Miyuki-san, please run!"

"Trying!" Miyuki called out as she jumped over an Imp, running through an opening before the hermit crab-like demons blocked her escape, "?!"

"What are those things anyway?!" Acid Ace asked, firing a few shots at the Koi-like demons.

"...AHH! Don't let those two combine!" Issun yelped, "They're Jiro and Saburo! It's said they were once lovers, but they commited suicide by jumping into the sea when their parents didn't approve. Now their restless spirits have taken form of a pair of hermit crabs that can become a ferocious shark if combined!"

"SH-SHARK?!" Megaman, Lyra Note, and Miyuki exclaimed.

 ***SLASH***

"Ahh!" Miyuki yelped as she barely jumped back from a slash from Jiro, cutting up her swimsuit a bit, "...mm...This was one of my favorites…"

"...Geo, Sonia, you deal with the mooks," Acid Ace ordered, "I'll deal with the crabs."

=Hermit Crabs...and no crab puns=

"You're no fun…" Acid Ace muttered before charging at Jiro and Saburo.

"Ahh!" Miyuki yelped when she dodged another slash, her swimsuit getting another cut in it, "Did I do something to get this kind of treatment today?!"

* * *

"How goes teaching that fake kyuubi a lesson?" Vulpecula asked, still resting in the same spot.

" **The troops have run into interference,"** the Karasu Tengu informed, looking at a red scroll that floated before him, displaying moving paper cutouts of the Imps, fish, and two hermit crabs along with paper cutouts of Megaman, Lyra Note, and Acid Ace moving around and cutting through most of the other cutouts.

"...Hold it…" Vulpecula frowned as she looked at the image of Lyra Note, seeing the red markings, wolf ears, and tail, "...So that's who has the Sun Goddess' power…Karasu."

" **Hmm?"**

"Have Jiro and Saburo gattai...We might as well kill three birds with one stone while we're at it."

" **Yes, Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu replied before waving his hand over the scroll, causing the paper cutouts of Saburo and Jiro to start glowing with a black aura.

* * *

Jiro gave out a cry before stabbing into the ground, creating a red and black barrier around the area seemingly made of kanji. Saburo screeched before digging into the sand and released a blast of water from the ground, flooding the entire sealed off area. Megaman grabbed Lyra Note as Acid Ace picked up Miyuki and the two jumped onto higher ground in the barrier. Jiro and Saburo took each other's claws before they went into their shells, forcing the two shells together before they solidified into a demonic shark covered in intricate detailed armor.

"Eek! Ichirōmaru!" Issun exclaimed.

Acid Ace roared as he flew at the shark. He swung his blades only for them to shatter on impact with the armor. He barely dodged the attempted bite from Ichirōmaru and landed back with the others.

=The armor is surprisingly resilient= Acid observed.

"What do we do, Issun?" Lyra asked.

"Pray?" Issun gulped.

"Pray?!"

"Ichirōmaru's scales are as hard as the hardest metal in history...barely anyone has gotten past his armor alone…" Issun gulped.

"...I think I have an idea," Lyra Note suggested, "Does anyone have an Elec Battle Card?"

"...Oh clever…" Acid Ace grinned at that.

"Battlecard Predation! Elecshot/Elecsword/PlasmaGun!"

Ichirōmaru growled out as he swam in the water, eying the trio as they prepared their electrified weapons.

"Ready….fire!" Acid Ace ordered as they fired their shots into the water...only for the shark-like demon to jump out, "...Oh that clever SoB."

"Got it!" Meaman shouted as he fired a few shots at Ichiro, only for them to bounce off, "...Okay that's just not fair."

Lyra Note pulled her brush out and made a slash with it. Ichirōmaru actually grunted from the Power Slash hitting its armor before it dived back into the water.

"...It worked?" Lyra Note blinked.

"I think so..if not just barely," Lyra noted.

"Maybe if we get Ichirōmaru back in the air, we could get him with stronger attacks," Acid Ace suggested.

"Good idea," Megaman nodded, "In fact...might as well try a new Battlecard I made last night."

=...Is it time?= Omega-Xis asked, a giddy tone in his voice.

"...What did you make?" Acid Ace asked slowly.

=Most likely? Very destructive given Omega-Xis's vocal patterns increasing in pitch=

"Battlecard, Predation! RYNO!"

"RYNO?" Acid Ace repeated before said weapon formed in Megaman's hands, a white aura appearing on it, "Oh...That...What is that?"

"They'll show you once we get that shark in the air," Lyra replied.

"...That doesn't assure me…" Acid Ace admitted as Ichirōmaru jumped out of the water.

"DUCK!" Lyra Note screamed once Megaman pulled the trigger.

Miyuki yelped as she ducked behind some floating debris as the entire area was filled with explosions and...oddly enough music.

=O-oh my!= Frost yelped.

* * *

" **Um...Vulpecula-sama?"**

"What?"

" **Ichirōmaru was...er...obliterated."**

"He was defeated?"

" **No.** _ **Obliterated**_ **,"** Karasu corrected, showing the scroll as it showed bits of the cutout of Ichirōmaru while the cutouts of Megaman, Lyra Note, and Acid Ace cheered.

"...Armor and all?"

" **..."** Karasu replied with a nod.

"...ugh...when you want something done right…" Vulpecula muttered as she stood up, transforming into her normal state, "You do it yourself….Karasu, you're on standby should something happen."

" **Yes, Vulpecula-sama."**

* * *

"...Oh my…" Miyuki whispered with wide eyes, looking at the destruction of what used to be the photoset once the water drained when the barrier vanished with Ichirōmaru's defeat.

"Okay...that's a Giga Chip, right?" Ace asked.

"Yep," Geo replied.

"Good."

"...Last resort," Sonai suggested.

=Like hell it is! Look at this destruction! It...e-excuse me. I...I think I got something in my eye= Omega-Xis sniffled.

"Pansy," Issun scoffed.

=I WILL END YOU, LITTLE GNAT!=

"You alright, Miyuki-san?" sonia asked as she walked over.

"I...I am...just...shocked," Miyuki admitted, "Mostly at the fact that you and Geo are both the famous Megaman and Lyra Note I've heard so much about in this news."

"Well, with Geo-kun, it was...kinda obvious. What with Meteor G and everything…" Sonia admitted.

"Dang paparazzi…" Omega-Xis growled before pausing and slowly looked at Geo.

"We are not using the RYNO on paparazzi," Geo deadpanned.

"It would be so much easier!" Omega-Xis complained.

"And illegal," Ace pointed out.

"Aw man…" Omega-Xis grumbled.

"...Why were those...things after me?" Miyuki pondered, "I mean, I didn't do anything wrong...did I?"

"I...I think it's because of me…" Frost whimpered.

"Hmm?"

"O...Omega-Xis said my s-sister's scent was on them...they were after me…" Frost whimpered.

"...But...why were they after me as well?" Miyuki asked.

"Because I wanted to see if you deserve to call yourself a kyuubi or not, you fake vixen."

"...no…." Omega-xis paled, a sense of dread in his voice.

"And what a surprise, another traitor is found with my reject of a sibling."

"...mm…." Frost whimpered as she slinked behind Miyuki.

"And oh? Is that..oh it is~"

The group slowly turned to see Vulpecula standing there, a grin on her face as her nine fox tails swayed.

"Long time no see...my beloved Omega-Xis~"

"...GAH! SHE EVOLVED?!" Omega-Xis yelped as he dove into the VG Hunter.

"For the better~" Vulpecula purred out as she brushed one of her tails, a faint dark aura on her, "Because I didn't need one of those pathetic ningen's to fuse with to obtain this form...no...I have my new master to thank for this~"

"Ningen?!" Issun gasped.

"Master?" Sonia repeated.

"Nothing for you to know for now, 'Goddess' of the sun."

"?!" Sonia tensed at that.

"...I don't like the look of that aura on her, Misora-tenshisama," Issun gulped.

"...Goodall, you're reading this, right?" Ace asked through the com.

=Yes. It roughly matches the scans of that sphere back when you all defeated that toad= Goodall replied.

"...Tia, if you're reading this, get to safety...now," Ace ordered over the communicator.

"I do hope you're ready, Om. Me. Ga. Xis-kun~" Vulpecula noted, "Because when I'm done here, I'll have you once more."

=...Geo...transform. NOW!= Omega-Xis screamed.

The world turned sepia just as the trio were about to change. Vulpecula smirked, making a single slash with one of her tails. The color returned and the trio cried out as a horizontal cut appeared on their stomachs as they were knocked back.

"?!" Miyuki tensed at that.

"Wh...what..just happened..?" Ace coughed out.

"...she…..used the same move as Sonia…" Geo whispered with wide eyes.

"Power Slash!?" Issun gasped.

"Ite…" Sonia grunted, holding an arm over the cut in her stomach area and her one-piece swimsuit.

"What's wrong, little wolf? That wasn't even my strongest attack," Vulpecula mocked, "You're a 'god' after all, so you should've brushed that off easily."

' _God?'_ Miyuki pondered.

"...unless….oh...oh hohohohoho~! Oh this is perfect!" Vulpecula laughed, "You've barely even tapped into the power you stole, haven't you~?"

"St...stole…?" Sonia panted out before Vulpecula appeared before her and stomped on her, "Gah!"

"Yes...stole...from my master, mutt," Vulpecula stated, grinding her heel into Sonia, "Something you don't deserve, ningen trash…"

"Agh!" Sonia cried out as she tried to get up despite the heel grinding into her.

"Oi! Stop that!" Miyuki snapped.

"And why should I, you fake vixen?" Vulpecula asked, not once looking at her, "You ningen...you should've learned your place ages ago..back when Cepeus was a true king…"

=He is a better king now than he used to be!= Lyra argued.

"He's a shell of what he used to be!" Vulpecula argued, grinding her heel further into Sonia, "He was poisoned...poisoned by you filthy traitors and ningen! And even worse...you make those...those...freaks you dare call EM beings! They...they're a disgrace to real ones...much like..." she glared over at Frost, "Much like you, reject!"

"Mmm…" Frost whimpered, curling up a bit as she hid behind Miyuki fruther.

"She is not a reject," Miyuki responded with a scowl.

"Oh? And what would you know, ningen? She's nothing more than a reject...right, 0?"

"...f...frost…"

"Hmm?"

"M...my name….is Frost…" Frost whispered.

"...Who gave you a name? I didn't give you permission to have one, 0," Vulpecula frowned.

"She doesn't need your permission to have a name," Miyuki replied, "And as for who gave it to her, I did. It's a lovely name for a such a kind girl like Frost."

"...Oh how cute. You got adopted by a ningen…" Vulpecula chuckled at that, "Fitting for you...considering you're nothing more than a pet...0."

"...And what does that supposed to mean?" Miyuki scowled.

"Simple...Ningen...mortals only own things as pets if they pity them..or want something to lord over."

"...Grr…" Miyuki's hands began to ball up at that.

"But why do I have to explain things to a fake vixen such as yourself?" Vulpecula chuckled, "Why call yourself a fox when you don't have the tools for it? Look, you don't even have the tails or anything."

"...I call myself by my title because foxes are amazing creatures…They may hold a bad reputation for being notorious tricksters and thieves...but they also hold a mystery. My family…" Miyuki paused as she held a hand over her heart, "We're part of an ancient race...one that was in tune with their animal spirit…"

"? Ancient race?"

"...the Oina Tribe."

"?! Oina Tribe?!" Issun gasped.

"Oina?" Sonia weakly repeated.

"There are so very few of us left...but we believe in the spirits...in protecting the Earth..in trusting our animal spirits…" Miyuki whispered.

=Synchronization detected= Acid spoke.

"Eh?"

"When a fox steals...it is mostly so it can feed its family...When their family is in danger, they will do all they can to protect it…" Miyuki continued, a faint ice blue aura surrounding her as Frost slowly began to float up, "Foxes trust one another...but...hearing you say such cold things to your own sibling...I cannot stand such cruelty towards family...kyu…"

"Kyu?" Vulpecula raised a brow.

=Synchronization increasing rapidly…=

"...G...Goodall…?" Ace grunted out.

=It seems we're going to be registering a new Wave Change user today= Goodall laughed.

"Oh..wait, what?"

"I don't know how...but you...I…" Miyuki began as her eyes narrowed, the icy-blue aura around her increasing, "I will not forgive you!"

"...Wave...Change…" Frost whispered out.

Frost spun around and engulfed Miyuki in her radiation. After a moment, the radiation dispersed revealing a snow white version of Vulpecula's form with the radiation replaced with cream-white fur with ice-blue swirling designs. The fox opened her eyes, revealing them to be the same color as Miyuki's yet the white was now a glowing silver.

=Registration Complete. Wave Change 999 - Blizzard Kyuubi= Goodall informed.

"...Cute...You think you're me now…" Vulpecula frowned before snapping her fingers, causing some Imps to appear, "Destroy her."

The Imps roared out as they all pounced at Blizzard Kyuubi all at once...only within a matter of seconds, they were instantly frozen.

"?!"

Blizzard Kyuubi swung her arms out, shattering the Imps and releasing a cold wind around her. She snarled before rushing at Vulpecula, delivering a powerful right hook across her face and knocking her away from Sonia.

"...k..kakui…" Sonia whispered.

"Daijoubu, kyu?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked, holding a hand out to her.

"H...Hai," Sonia replied as she took the offered hand.

"Good. Here…" Blizzard Kyuubi said, offering a Recovery 300 Battlecard as she turned back towards Vulpecula, "Hurry and transform… We have a 'rabid' fox to put down, kyu."

=Sonia, remember when we fought Tachigami? When you used Bloom's dots and put some on his made stroke, it seemed to negate his technique= Lyra noted as they Wave Changed, "If Vulpecula tries it again, let's try out own technique on hers."

"Hai," Lyra Note replied.

"...Cute...two fakes…" Vulpecula whispered, growling as her tails stuck out, "Fine...I'll play with you…"

"I should warn you…" Blizzard Kyuubi began as she cracked her knuckles a bit, "I'm pretty deadly in close combat, kyu."

"So I'll go in from afar," Vulpecula replied as the world turned sepia to her before she made a slash going diagonal across Blizzard Kyuubi.

"Not this time!" Lyra Note called as she quickly slashed with her brush, going over Vulpecula's slash before sepia gave way to normality and the fox FM-Ian cried out as she was knocked back with sparks racing out of the cut going diagonally across her body.

"Gah...you…!" Vulpecula growled out before Blizzard Kyuubi ran past her, delivering a clothesline that knocked right right into the sand, "Ack!"

"First rule of wrestling; never take your eye off your opponent, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi stated, picking her legs up before she began to spin her around.

"Ahh! U...unhand me, you fake!"

"Oh...okay, kyu."

"...Wait. That's wasn't what I…!" Vulpecula began before Blizzard Kyuubi let go, causing her to fly towards Lyra Note.

"Battlecard, Predation! Crescent Rose!" Lyra Note called as Lyra transformed into the gun/scythe hybrid blade.

"?!" Vulpecula tensed up, trying to recover and block the incoming attack, only for Lyra Note to blur past her, leaving a quick slash on her before stabbing the blade part into the sand, pulling on the trigger and firing a few shots at her, "Gah!"

"Ready?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked.

"Hai," Lyra Note nodded.

"Gah...you little…" Vulpecula growled out as she stood up, "I will end you!"

"255…"

"I will shatter those limbs and have my way with you!"

"125..."

"...I…what are…"

"No, no. Continue, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi offered.

"...I am going to burn you into ashes."

"Ohh~ 99, kyu."

"I-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Vulpecula snapped.

"Oh nothing, kyu. It's just I've heard those lines so many times with my opponents in the ring, I've started making a mental list of certain lines, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi nonchalantly answered.

"...you...you insane bitch."

"190, kyu."

=...Oh I like her= Goodall admitted.

"Yeah..well...I...I will dominate you!" Vulpecula snapped.

"Oh dear…" Blizzard Kyuubi gasped...before grinning a little, "Twelve, kyu~"

Vulpecula's eye twitched madly before she let out an enraged roar. She lunged at them, claws extended and her eyes glowing with pure rage.

"...Now, kyu!" Blizzard Kyuubi declared.

Lyra Note swung Crescent Rose to face behind her before she pulled the trigger. Vulpecula gagged as the blade caught her in the neck. Lyra Note proceeded to fire multiple shots, the recoil sending her and her caught fox further and further backwards. Lyra Note went over a large rock coming out of the sand while Vulpecula crashed into it, gagging as the blade cut deeper into her neck. Lyra Note was about to pull the trigger once more time before a barrage of feathers forced her to release the blade and dodge. Karasu kicked the blade away before picking up the FM-Ian as gently as possible. The muscular tengu turned around to give a narrowed glare at them before taking off and away from the area, dispersing into a cloud of black and red smoke that dispersed to reveal nothing there.

"...Uh….who was that?" Geo asked, blinking in confusion.

"A Karasu Tengu," Issun explained.

"A what?" Ace questioned.

"Demon crow men, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi explained, "They usually serve high ranking demons."

"And considering that Vulpecula looks like a humanoid busty nine-tailed fox, they must think she's a pretty high ranking demon at that," Issun noted.

"Which means…" Ace began as he stood up, holding his stomach a bit, "She must be behind all those attacks."

=...WHY?!= Omega-Xis wailed =I...I thought I was finally done with her! What did I do to anger you, Star Gods?!=

"Probably invoked Murphy," Ace replied.

"Well, at least she's gone n-WHOA!" Lyra Note yelped as she fell flat on her face, "...Mmmmmm!-!-!"

"Sense of balance issues?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked, watching as Lyra Note began to hit the ground repeatedly and chilishly with her fists and feet.

"Ever since she grew the tail," Ace confirmed.

"...In what way does she have her tail raised, kyu?"

"Hmm?"

"The position the tail is raised is important, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi explained, pausing Lyra Note's tantrum, "Trust me..I've...had that problem before with my outfit before I go into the ring, or for some cosplay shots, kyu."

"...You mean to tell me the way I have my tail is why I keep falling over?" Lyra Note gawked.

"Hai, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi nodded, "Now, how do you keep your tail, Sonia? Raised up? Down? Curved?"

"Um…Not sure," Lyra Note replied as she dropped her Wave Change and managed to get up.

"Oh, she has it normally curved to the right," Issun informed.

=Of course you'd know which way she keeps her tail…= Omega-Xis grumbled.

"Hmm...it's a wolf tail…" Blizzard Kyuubi pondered as she looked at Sonia, "Hmm...try keeping it down straight with the tip curved up a bit."

"Okay…" Sonia replied as she got her tail to go down and curved it up just a little, "..." she took several steps before sighing in relief, "Oh thank goodness…"

"Better?"

"So much so…" Sonia smiled, "Thank you so much, Miyuki-san."

"It's fine. And please...you can call my Miyuki-chan if you want," Blizzard Kyuubi winked as she dropped her transformation.

"Arigatou, Miyuki-chan!" Sonia thanked, smiling at the older woman.

"...Quick question…" Geo spoke up, earning miyuki's attention, "What exactly is the Oina Tribe you mentioned?"

"...Actually, you were also talking like Sonia during that battle," Ace brought up, "Care to explain, Miss. Nanaya?"

"...Like I mentioned to….her…" Miyuki frowned a bit, referring to Vulpecula for a moment before calming down, "The Oina Tribe is an ancient race...one dating back to old Nippon...There's so very little of us left, but we still live on, trusting the spirits and in our animal spirit, kyu. There was even an ancient technique they used to fully understand their fellow animal."

"...And that is?"

"Watch…" Miyuki said before doing a flip into the air, turning into a vixen with creamish-yellow fur with her muzzle and tail tip a pure snow-white.

"AH!" everyone yelped, jumping back in surprise.

"Surprised, kyu?" Miyuki giggled before flipping in the air once more, turning back into a human, the ears and tail still there, "I can even keep the tail and ears if I wish."

"...Kitsunemimi…." Issun swooned, "...must...paint…!"

=Perverted gnat…=

"Um...So what happened to the other Oina?" Lyra asked.

"Many of us have died out," Miyuki explained, "From the stories I was told, the Oina used to live in a single tribe on this land. But when a blizzard started to happen, a terrible one at that, some Oina left to find the tribe new land away from the seemingly endless storm. But when they came back to tell the others of their tribe of the new land...the entire area was gone. In fact, half the entire continent including the capital city just...vanished."

"Eh? Vanished?"

"That's right...but before then..many terrible demons had invaded to lands...including the twin owl demons of Mt. Ezofuji, Letchku and Netchku."

"Mt. Ezofuji?" Ace repeated, "You mean Mt. Fuji?"

"Iie," Miyuki replied, shaking her head, "It used to be a shrine that held the twin demons back. Often, the Oina would choose one member of the tribe to in act a special ritual dance to prevent the Oina's homeland from freezing over."

=It seems that while we have gained answers, more questions have appeared= Goodall noted with a small sigh.

"Indeed. In fact...how many stores do you know of, Miss Nanaya?" Ace asked.

"All of my homeland and a few from beyond, kyu. Why?"

"...We would like your and Frost's assistance, please."

* * *

"Grr...I can't believe this…" Vulpecula growled out as she stood within her cave, "First I have to deal with a fake goddess, but now my reject of a sister is going against me! Ugh...why is my beloved with them?! Those...those contemptible shrews!"

" **Perhaps he's been conditioned by them, Vulpecula-sama?"** Karasu guessed, bowing before her.

"...Yes...yes that has to be it!" Vulpecula exclaimed, "No way would my beloved be swayed so easily!"

" **What action shall we take then, Vulpecula-sama?"**

"We show them their poor choice in taking my beloved away...by taking theirs away," Vulpecula replied, "Bring me the flames and the ocean for their assignments."

" **...Of course, Vulpecula-sama."**

-linebreak-

Soft humming escaped from a beautiful, fair-skinned woman with long black hair with three bales of rice resting on top of her head. She stepped out of her wooden home in a red and yellow kimono, rice grains decorating her sleeves. As she made her way down the small village at the bottom of a large hill, she noticed something along the river shore.

"Oh kami…" the woman gasped, quickly running over to the side of the river and reached down, "Mmmmm!" she grunted as she started pulling before, after several pulls, she managed to pull up a young man with white hair, tanned skin, and strange clothing, "Oh! Susano'o-kun! Susano'o-kun! Tatsukete!"

"Nani, Kushinada-chan?" a gruff voice asked before a burly man in blue robes and a scraggy black beard walked up and saw the young man, "Nan de?!"

"Susano'o-kun, onegai!"

"Hai, hai, hai!" Susano'o replied as he scooped up the young man and the two headed for a wooden hut with a large orange on the top of it...neither aware of Sakuya looking at them from the large tree near the top of the large hill.

" _Someone was able to make it here...unconscious, yes, but still…"_ Sakuya spoke to herself before looking at the large tree, _"...One more Guardian Sapling...Just one more needs to be bloomed…"_

* * *

 _SZ: Well this is interesting._

 _GT: Very true._

 _SZ: Hai. We got a new ally, but...hoo boy is Vulpecula PISSED._

 _GT: Yeah. Plus...seems that Solo is near Sakuya. Guess he survived being stabbed by Tachigami._

 _SZ: Eeyup...but question is..what does Vulpecula have planned? And what's gonna happen to Solo now?_

 _GT: No clue. So wait until next chapter. But for now, Read and Review please!_


	9. Painting 9

_SZ: *ponders over the hidden message in X Legacy Collection*hmm...what could it mean…?_

 _GT: *watching Spyro ReIgnited gameplay* Okay...so they extended the intro scene for the Yeti world..but they got rid of the Yeti stomping the floor to cause the statue to smush him? Weird._

 _SZ: That is odd...well least Ripto looks much better than his promo art_

 _GT: I'm still slightly mixed on his new look. He's not pudgy anymore. I blame my growing up with the original games._

 _SZ: Fair…*sees the readers* oh hey! Welcome to another chapter of Rising Sun, minna._

 _GT: Hope you're all enjoying life._

 _SZ: And hope you enjoy another chapter of this. Where we last left off, quite a few things have happened. A new ally, Vulpecula making herself known...and Solo ending up in who knows where._

 _GT: Yep. So, as always, we own neither Okami or Megaman Starforce/Ryuusei no Rockman. They're owned by CAPCOM. And…*pulls out a TV and starts playing clips of Omega-Xis screaming like a little girl around red foxes before fleeing*...I told him red foxes all reported to Vulpecula._

 _SZ:...*hides in a bunker* fair…_

 _GT: Yep._

 _Omega-Xis: Why you…_

 _GT: *pulls out a plush of Vulpecula*_

 _Omega-Xis: *screams like a little girl before fleeing*_

 _GT: I'm awesome. *pulls curtains down*_

* * *

"It's quite interesting," Goodall noted as she looked at a holographic screen while Miyuki laid on a medical bed in her fox form, "It's a near-complete transformation. The only things unaltered are several vocal chords to allow her to speak human yet also bark and growl like a fox and her brain outside of motor functions."

"It helps, especially when to get away from the press, kyu," Miyuki giggled a bit, "Only downside is being hit on by a few males foxes out in the wild when laying low, kyu."

"A-And it doesn't hurt doing this?" Frost asked.

"Oh no...the only thing that hurts is making your tail split into nine as part of an illusion to scare the foxes off, kyu," Miyuki explained, "Are we done yet, hakase, kyu?"

"We are," Goodall replied, "Thank you for helping satisfy an elderly scientist's curiosity. And you were such a nice girl, Frosty."

"Don't try correcting her. She likes giving nicknames to all of us EM Beings," Lyra advised, "And get out here, Omega-Xis!"

=No way!= Omega-Xis replied from Geo's VG Hunter.

"It's because of Frost, isn't it?" Geo asked.

=That and Issun said I can't-GAH!= Omega-Xis yelped =You goddamn stupid hippo! ...Why are you still rambling?! No, I don't want lemonade with tea mixed into it!=

"...Do I even wanna know?" Ace asked.

"I gave Kelvin-Hakase the location of the California Bunker to give Aaron-san more games," Issun explained on top of Frost's head, "I got a copy of this one game that would be a good way to test reflexes and paying attention and adapting to things and told Bakaryu that he'd never be able to beat the hardest difficulty."

=GAH HA! GOD FUCKING DAMN GOLD ZOMBIE RABBIT!=

"Which one?" Issun asked.

=BOTH! AND WHY DOES THE PURPLE RABBIT KEEP SAYING FOUR LIKE THAT?!=

"A Mod I added," Issun snickered.

=Why does the god damn chicken...duck...thing have an obsession with pizza?! It's cree-GAH! FUCK YOU, FREDBEAR! Used the goddamn Death Coin on the gold bastard again!=

"I also have some nicer games that shouldn't be too scary for Frost," Issun noted as Miyuki shifted back into her human form.

"R-really?" Frost blinked.

"Yeah. You don't look like you'd handle the scarier games made in the Americas or anywhere for that matter, so I looked at the more softer ones," Issun shrugged before tapping on Miyuki's VG Hunter, "They're all sent to your VG Hunter for her, Miyuki-sama!"

"Oh. Why thankyu, Issun-kyun," Miyuki smiled, "You wanna try them out, Frost?"

"...s..sure," Frost nodded as she went into Miyuki's VG Hunter =...k...kyute~!=

"...yeah. She is DEFINITELY the polar opposite of Vulpecula," Lyra noted.

"I'll head back to headquarters to better review everything you've provided," Goodall noted to Ace, "We may need to improve our security measures and better protect the generators if this Vulpecula character is capable of using the same techniques as Sonia."

"And that worries me…" Sonia admitted, "And I'm still figuring out how to use my brush…"

=Gah! Okay, this is pissing me off! Oi, you want practice with that thing? Then get in this game and paint these goddamn stupid trash things! Aw come on! How'd you appear, ya damn brat?! I have them all on! WAit...wh-wat are those?! Am I getting eaten?! Ah! Shot and I just used the Death Coin, too! No-no-no-no-n...GRAAAH! Stupid chicken/duck/thing ate me!= Omega-Xis popped out of the VG Hunter and started flying off.

"Where are you going?" Geo asked.

"To get a ruler and a green shirt!"

"NO!" Sonia snapped, her marks glowing a bit, "You are NOT going to imitate Baldi, awo!"

"...Did she just go awo, kyu?" Miyuki blinked, "...Sonia-chan, you're not secretly half Oina, are you?"

"No, I...mou...what am I gonna do?" Sonia groaned as she sat down.

"There, there, Sonia-chan," Lyra assured, patting Sonia's shoulder.

"Everytime I try and relax...something happens...the games didn't help, going to the beach didn't help…" Sonia muttered before her VG Hunter went off, "...and I got an audition for some commercial..."

"...You know what usually helps me? Venting, kyu," Miyuki spoke.

"Venting? On what?"

"Anything...like the gym, or a friendly spar with someone, kyu."

"...You know, I _did_ see several coconut trees near here," Lyra recalled.

"Oh! I know the perfect recipe for coconut cream pie, kyu!" Miyuki beamed.

"It won't involve needing the coconuts in one piece, does it?" Lyra asked.

"No, why?"

* * *

"KISAMA!" Sonia screeched as she slammed a coconut into the ground before punting another well into the air, "KUSO!"

"Considering WAXA has this beach sealed off for investigations, I'm kinda glad they did," Geo noted, looking at Sonia attacking any and all coconuts and the trees bearing them that she could while screaming angrily.

"We tended to go to this nice tropical island in the Pacific filled with these trees after a stressful day," Lyra explained, "With everything happening, it just slipped my mind that this was her normal venting method."

"That's fair, kyu," Miyuki nodded, wearing an apron over a light orange dress as she mixed some cream in a bowl, "Usually when I vent, I tend to head to the gym and spar with some of my fellow wrestlers, kyu…"

"Wouldn't it be simple to use just the punching bag?" Ace asked.

"Been banned from it after knocking it into space for the twentieth time, kyu."

"I was wondering where the ISS kept getting those," Ace noted, snapping his fingers in realization, "Right, Acid?"

=Cannot talk. Figuring out a mystery right now=

"Eh?"

"He seemed tense, so I sent a few murder mystery games for him to try," Issun explained

"...So that's why he's been silent for the past few hours," Ace noted.

"Ahh~" Sonia sighed as she walked over, leaving behind a field of sand littered with broken coconuts and spilt coconut milk, "Now that. felt. Great!"

"Good," Miyuki smiled, "Tia-san, are the pie crust ready yet, kyu? I'm finished with the coconut cream."

"Yes," Tia replied before slapping Ace's hand with an unused ladle without looking at him, "Don't snack on the dough." as Ace rubbed his smacked hand, Tia carried the pie crust in its baking pan over to Miyuki, "Your pie crust. I must admit this is something I haven't done before. I normally use those mixes from stores."

"Ahh, but pie is always better when the crust is freshly made, kyu," Miyuki smiled as she put the bowl down, "You just don't get that same feeling with store brand stuff."

=Huh? Oi, Stupid Harp! Get in here!= Omega-Xis barked =They're speaking that dead language in this!=

"Eh?" Lyra entered the VG Hunter =...Why is that giant frog beside a bear?=

=No, no, no. Don't focus on the frog. Focus on what's saying!=

=Don't drag me into th-KYA! Baka-ryu!=

"...And how's Frost holding up?" Geo pondered.

=Y-yatta! She evolved!= Frost beamed.

"Gave her a few simulators and games you can raise creatures and stuff," Issun explained, "Nothing too violent."

"Ahh...ok."

* * *

"Ugh…." Solo groaned as he began to regain consciousness.

The strong sunlight greeted him, making him cover his eyes a little to realize it was coming from a square hole in the wall meant to be a window of sorts based on the two poles making a plus in the hole gave any indication. Slowly sitting up, the fur on him slid off his upper body...fur? He looked down to see that he had been covered in a blanket made of animal fur. He also noticed that he had strips of cloth tightly bound on his body where the blade from that surprise attack had gone through him. There was a strong smell coming from the strips as well, possibly some sort of ointment to help.

"...Laplace, where are we?" Solo asked, earning nothing in response, "...Laplace? ...Laplace!"

Looking around, he spotted his VG Hunter on a round table nearby. Managing to get up, he-relieved he was still in his lower clothing-managed to get over to the table and picked it up. He frowned, seeing a long gash going across it yet...it appeared to still be functioning, but just barely.

' _It must have been damaged when I was unconscious…'_ Solo thought, _'...Those creatures…'_ he placed a hand over the bandages, _'One of them was able to pierce the barrier without hardly any force needed…Just...just a simple stab...that island...what…?'_

"Huh...finally awake, huh kid?"

"?!" Solo tensed, grabbing a nearby sword as he turned to face the source of the voice.

The owner of the voice was a burly black-haired man. The top of his head was bald but framed by black hair that stuck up on either side with a large fan-like beard that connected to the monobrow above his eyes. His face sported a prominent red nose while his eyes were a stormy blue in color. His outfit was a simple, sleeveless purple outfit with a red belt and simple black shoes. Solo noted that the shoes seemed to be made of animal leather.

"Hmph...so you know how to wield a sword…" the man noted, "Good stance, but you've got your knees too straight. A good swordsmen could take easily hit you there with a kick and end it with their own." Solo just remained in his stance, "Now easy there. You're still wounded, though Kushi-chan's medical cream must be doing wonders for you to be up so quick. Either that or the brew she made from some peaches dropped from the sacred tree when she went to pray for your health."

"...Where am I?" Solo demanded.

"Heh. Such a rebellious spirit in ya," the man noted, "You're in Kamiki Village. Kushi-chan, my wife, found ya floating down the river. Seems ya got hurt pretty badly in a fight."

"...It was a fluke on my part...one I won't let happen again…" Solo frowned.

"Learning from mistakes, eh? Good on ya," the man chuckled, Solo swearing the beard was mimicking a smile, "Though it's better to let those wounds heal, 'specially the one a broad blade did to you."

"How did you know it…?" Solo began to demand.

"Any great swordsman could tell what kind of damage can be done by a kind of blade," the man replied, "That bokken you've got could go through a guy and leave behind splinters that make it all the worse for an opponent, for one."

"..."

"...Listen kid, you need to open up a bit. Being so defensive all the time isn't good for a kid your age," the man went on before turning to a door made of a sheet of straw, letting Solo see that he had a wooden broadsword with two handles and a flower in bloom on the butt of it, "I'm going to go tell my wife you've woken up. She's been worried about you since she pulled ya out of the river and saw that nasty wound going through ya."

"...noted," Solo stated.

The man nodded before opening the 'door;' he then paused and looked back over his shoulder, "And remember; bend the knees a bit more in that stance. Seriously, since you assumed it I've been wanting to just show how easy it'd be to disarm ya." he chuckled as Solo's eye twitched a little before leaving.

"...You're lucky I don't have Laplace one me…" Solo muttered.

* * *

=What is wrong with that chicken?= Lyra pondered.

=I have no idea. Reminds me of that one guy before you got promoted? The guy who'd like to collect 'trophies' of his victories= Omega-Xis recalled.

=...=

=What? You know it's true=

"I can't believe he convinced Lyra to join in on beating that game," Geo noted with a sweatdrop.

"Ahh~ That was good," Sonia sighed in content, "Miyuki-chan, where did you learn that recipe?"

"My mother...she...she was an amazing cook, kyu," Miyuki replied, a small sad smile on her face, "If anyone truly loved our planet, it was her...she believed when something would threaten it, the spirits would choose a hero to help protect it, kyu…"

"...Gomen," Sonia whispered, her ears drooping, "I...didn't mean too…"

"No no. It's fine. I know she has passed on, but I know she's watching over me…" Miyuki assured, smiling softly.

"...ch-changing subject then…what...stories do you know about Nippon?"

"Well...the stories of Kamui, the Ryugu Kingdom, Catcall Tower...Orochi…"

"Oh! The one with Izanagi, Izanami, and Shiranui?" Sonia asked.

"The person who gave Sonia her brush and me a box containing Tachigami's children told us that story," Geo explained.

"Ahh...did he tell you after Orochi was defeated, his soul split into four?"

"Beg pardon?"

"Oh yes...upon Orochi's death, his soul split into four while his power split into eight…" Miyuki explained, "The four pieces of his soul formed into four demons...the twin owls Letchku and Netchku, Blight and the cursed sword Goldnail….and the ruler of Oni Island, Ninetails."

"...Why did you hesitate on that l-"

"Long story, kyu..."

"Soka," Sonia noted.

"Tachigami told us that bits of him snuck into some of the Fudegami that Amaterasu had encountered before she fought Orochi," Geo recalled.

"Which means there might be others like them out there somewhere…" Lyra guessed.

"Mou…" Sonia sighed before picking up an unbroken coconut and punting it, "KUSO!"

=Oi, Lyra! Get back in here! It's doing another one of those funny cutscenes with the bear and fox!= Omega-Xis barked before laughing =He's wearing a fruit hat! LA~ME!=

"...I'm not going back in there," Lyra huffed.

"Too spoopy?" Issun guessed.

"No. Only one seat," Lyra replied.

"Well, it is meant to be the personal purgatory of a child murdering serial killer that experimented on their souls that were bound to animatronics and ended up becoming killed inside of a suit with spring locks and now possessing the suit that killed him until he was incinerated with the remaining bits of souls of the murdered children, his daughter, his soul-infused robot son-turned-purple-skinned-corpse, and his ex-friend and his daughter soul-bound inside of a puppet inside of another animatronic in a fake pizzeria and is now stuck in purgatory because of one child's soul refusing to let go of their hatred," Issun noted.

"...What?" Geo asked after a moment with everyone looking at him with surprised looks.

"I watched videos of this MatPat guy that Skye found," Issun explained.

=Ah! Oh w...wait..wh-what's that? What….GAH!= Omega-Xis screamed as he flew out of the VG Hunter "Deformed female white fox!"

"..Mangle?" Issun asked.

"That is exactly the word I was looking for!" Omega-Xis replied, "It was a mangled female white fox robot!"

"Better than a ninja pirate zombie robot," Issun joked.

"Shut! It! Gnat!" Omega-Xis growled.

"Baka-Ryu."

"I will Afton you!"

"What?" Geo asked.

"Afton," Omega-Xis explained, pointing at a picture on the list of Animatronics, "See? Looks like a decaying body shoved into a suit filled with spring locks that killed the guy then shoved into a secret room that was completely sealed off for thirty years then escaped a fire and had weather damage happen to the suit until he found a place to hide."

"...You're going to shove Issun in a suit with spring locks, seal him up for thirty years, and then burn him down inside the room and then shove the body off to be harmed by weather damage?" Geo questioned.

"...Your point?" Omega-Xis asked, raising a brow.

"Dai Baka-Ryu."

"You die first!"

"No, no. 'Dai' means 'giant,'" Lyra corrected.

"...Well, everyone who I said it to has never grown big, just dead," Omega-Xis huffed.

"..." Lyra and Issun shared looks before saying together, "Cho Dai Baka-Ryu."

"Cho?"

"It means super."

"...Oh now you're asking for it…"

"Ah! Ano, Miyuki-san?" Sonia spoke up, earning her attention, "That ability you can do...c-could anyone learn it?"

"...You want me to teach it to you, kyu?" Miyuki guessed, earning a small nod in response, "...Well...normally it's for those born of the Oina Tribe...but given your...ahem...circumstances…" Sonia's ears and tail twitched, "It could take quite a bit of time for those outside the clan to learn it...but on one condition."

"What's that?"

"They must face the one they wish to learn it from in combat, kyu."

"Oh," Sonia noted before a few moments passed and it sunk in, "E-EH?!"

"You want to learn the Oina tribe's techniques…" Miyuki began, a serious expression on her face, "You have to earn them."

"...Two busty babes in a battle…" Issun whispered on top of Geo's head before he collapsed, his radiation pink with several 'spurts' coming from his nose area, "Sugei~"

"...a...and what's the battle of choice?" Sonia cautiously asked.

"Any kind the 'sensei' chooses. The 'student' can use whatever they wish as long as it gives them an edge," Miyuki explained, "As for the arena of choice...well…" a slight smirk grew on her face, "You know what one of my professions is, kyu."

"...It's wrestling, isn't it?" Sonia asked, slumping.

"Someone get some mud!" Issun cheered, snapping up to attention quickly.

"Wizard Off," Geo deadpanned, sucking Issun back into the Star Carrier.

"I suggest you learn and get the proper equipment in...oh say, a few hours or so, kyu?" Miyuki suggested as she began to walk away, "You'll need it, Sonia...or rather, Misora, kyu."

"...Oh, I'm dead~" Sonia groaned, her ears and tail drooping as she cried waterfall tears.

"So I guess there's no more pie?" Omega-Xis asked.

"Wizard Off and all foxes Animatronics at level max," Geo deadpanned.

=AH! EVIL FOXES! GET ME OUTTA HERE!=

=...M-Miyuki...a-are you sure Sonia…= Frost began in Miyuki's VG Hunter.

"She asked for it, so she needs to prove it," Miyuki answered, looking back a bit at Sonia, "Besides...given what we're facing...she'll need it, kyu."

"This is one weird day off," Ace admitted.

"True. But it is quite interesting," Tia admitted.

* * *

"...Mou...now what do I do…?" Sonia muttered, resting on the end of her bed in hers and Geo's suite as she rested her head on her opened hands, "I just had to ask...I just had to ask…"

"We just have to study up on it, Sonia," Lyra encouraged, "Then we can Wave Change for the battle."

"Miyuki-san suggested the proper gear, so unless we can alter our Wave Change form to fit the battle...we're boned in a sense…" Sonia sighed before her tail twitched, "A bone sounds kinda good right, to admit it…"

"Sonia?!" Lyra exclaimed.

"What? I'm part-wolf right now!" Sonia defended, pointing at her ears and tail.

"Well, you still shouldn't act like one!" Lyra exclaimed before thinking, "...Or _should_ you?"

"Eh?"

"Think about it. Miyuki is part of the Oina, a tribe where they-as she says-'embrace the animal within,'" Lyra noted, "Maybe if we study fox habits and wolf habits, we may have something."

"...Lyra, look up any and all info on foxes and wolves," Sonia ordered, "We'll need as much info as we can before the fight."

"Hai, hai."

* * *

"...Mad at you, traitor…" Omega-Xis growled, glaring a bit at Geo.

"You were blowing things out of proportions…"

"Well you could've done the same to the perverted gnat!"

"I locked him in the Star Carrier with the screen facing the floor," Geo noted with a shrug.

"...Still mad at you…" Omega-Xis huffed, "Besides, shouldn't you help Sonia before her fight?"

"Can't...Miyuki sent me a note saying only Sonia has to do this. No outside help aside from Lyra," Geo replied.

=Do we have mud?= Issun asked.

"No. And I'm not flipping it rightside up," Geo scolded.

=Aw come on~! Two busty babes in uniform! Mashing their lithe sexy figures together, grunting and groaning!= Issun tried to convince as Geo's face began to blush at Issun's description =The cries of ecstasy upon escape or victory!=

"...One more word out of you, and I'll torture you," Omega-Xis growled.

=Oh please...what can ya do to me?=

"Men in speedos."

=...you are evil….=

"No, I'm badass."

=Fox=

"WHERE?!" Omega-Xis panicked.

Geo sighed.

* * *

"...She should be here by now…" Blizzard Kyuubi muttered, her armor a bit different as she stood in a wrestling ring set up one the beach with area; Her armor now resembled a sky-blue top with silver straps along her breasts and underneath the top with a pair of sky-blue short-shorts and a pair of silver panty strings overlapping the silver straps below her top.

"...I'm honestly surprised she was able to get her Wave Form to change appearance…" Ace whispered to Tia as the two stood at the side.

"It could be an illusion-based technique," Tia noted.

"Maybe," Ace shrugged, "What do you think, Acid?"

=Hmm...a closed door mystery...interesting...should not be too hard…=

"...Nevermind. Still busy…" Ace muttered.

"Sorry I'm late!" Lyra Note called as she jumped off the Wave Road, "I had to look all over the country for a store that sold them in my si-how did you change your armor to look like wrestling gear?!"

"Win and I might tell you, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi answered.

"Ah mou…" Lyra Note groaned.

"So...are you prepared?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked, stretching a bit, "Oh and don't worry about anyone else seeing this. Tia-san had a...talk with my manager to make this a private battle...and Ace-san checked for any hidden cameras, kyu."

=And Baka-Ryu nearly got arrested by Ace-san for disturbing the peace by patrolling the area in a green turtleneck long-sleeved sweater and slapping a ruler repeatedly in his hand!= Issun chirped.

"Oh, screw you! That was scary as hell! Not as bad as foxes, mind you, but still!" Omega-Xis barked, "But look on the bright side...at least there's no god damn paparazzi in the area!"

"...Now I ask again…" Blizzard Kyuubi paused, finishing her stretches as she got into a stance, "Are you ready...Misora, kyu?"

"Hai," Lyra Note replied, sighing a bit as she dismissed Wave Change to reveal her in a red sleeveless tee and white short-shorts with red lines on the sides, a hole cut in the back to let her tail poke out with her brush connected to the shorts with a string.

"Good. Fair warning...I won't be using my ice powers, but you will need to try and adapt to what I'll have in store," Blizzard Kyuubi stated.

"...Right then," Sonia nodded as she got into a stance as well.

"Good. Tia-san, Ace-san, ring the bell please, kyu."

"Sure thing!" Ace replied before whispering to Tia, "This...is gonna suck for Sonia, ain't it?"

 ***CLANG~!***

"And go," Tia informed as Ace rubbed the new bump on his head while Acid examined the dent shaped like the top of Ace's head in the bell.

As if a hidden trigger going off, Blizzard Kyuubi was a practical blur as she ran up to Sonia, who tensed up as she attempted to dodge, only to end up getting grabbed and getting thrown into the opposite end of the ring. Sonia grunted as she quickly got back up and yelped and barely jumped out of the way of another grab.

"Okay, so far s-kya!" Sonia yelped as Blizzard Kyuubi did a quick leg swipe on her legs, causing her to trip up and crash a bit into the mat, "Ite!"

"Don't get cocky," Blizzard Kyuubi whispered, moving on top of Sonia as she got her into an armlock, "Punishment."

"G-Gah!" Sonia yelped as her opponent tugged.

=Ah! Wh-What's going on?! I wanna see!= Issun exclaimed.

"No."

=Aw come on~!=

"Do you yield?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked, tugging Sonia's arm a bit harder, "If not, then break out of this...if you can."

Sonia grunted as she tried to get her arm out of it. The red heart shape-making lines on her chest glowed as she pressed her feet on the ground. Giving a few more grunts, she managed to get onto her feet. She let out a cry as she managed to slam Blizzard Kyuubi on the ground, managing to make several cracks in the ground from the slam. The impact startled Blizzard Kyuubi, causing her to lessen her grip enough for Sonia to get out and jump back from her.

"...Not bad…" Blizzard Kyuubi whispered as she got up, shaking a bit as she got back into the stance, "You're slowly learning, kyu…"

"Y-Yeah," Sonia replied, _'Okay...okay...gotta remember what I studied…If she's using foxes as a base for her fighting style, then...'_ she saw Blizzard Kyuubi's legs tense, _'Foxes tend to get on their hind legs before pouncing.'_ she jumped over Blizzard Kyuubi's lunge, managing to grab onto her back and yelped as the older woman began to buck around, trying to get her off.

"Grr...get..off…" Blizzard Kyuubi grunted, _'Did she already figure it out…?'_

=What's happening now?= Issun asked.

"The girl's riding the other girl around," Omega-Xis replied.

=Who's riding who?!=

"Yes."

=BAKA-RYU! DON'T TEASE A GUY LIKE THAT!=

Blizzard Kyuubi charged at one of the posts and swung around to slam Sonia into it. The red head let go of her and managed to fall off before Blizzard Kyuubi could reach the post, ending up with the fox hitting it and yelping in surprise.

"...okay...you're getting the hang o-" Snow Kyuubi began before Sonia managed to tackle her over, ending up with her falling back first onto the mat with Sonia on top, "Ahh!"

' _Trust the wolf, trust the wolf, trust the wolf,'_ Sonia thought, _'Look for weaknesses and strike them. Don't let up!'_

"What did you two do in the last two hours?" Geo asked.

"Studied the hunting traits of a wolf and fox," Lyra replied, "Wolves are opportunists and endurists. They focus on outlasting their prey and go for any weaknesses they can exploit."

"...And a fox's would be…?" Omega-Xis asked out of slight interest...mostly so he could have an upper edge on Vulpecula should she return.

"Playful. Often luring their prey into being killed," Lyra noted, "A common tactic for hunting rabbits is them just chasing their tail until the rabbit comes to them..." Lyra tensed up upon the realization, "Oh drat...Sonia, look o-"

"Ahh!" Sonia yelped when she was suddenly grabbed by one of Blizzard Kyuubi's tails and was tossed off her.

"Should've paid more attention, kyu," Blizzard Kyuubi smirked a little as she got up and pounced on the downed red head, "Time for another punishment," she added, turning her around before getting her into a camel clutch.

"G-Gah!"

=Now what's happening!?= Issum asked.

"I'm not answering that."

=AH MOU~!=

"Do you forfeit?" Blizzard Kyuubi asked as she pulled back, causing Sonia to grunt as her shirt's top was being stretched by her bosom.

"G-Ghh!" Sonia grunted as she struggled yet couldn't even move her upper body.

"Do you forfeit?!" Blizzard Kyuubi snapped as she pulled harder.

"G-Guh…!" Sonia choked as her tail hit her brush, getting the tip covered in the seemingly infinite ink on the brush end.

"...Then t…" Blizzard Kyuubi began before she felt something cold splash onto her back, "Gh~?!" on instinct, she let go of Sonia to grab at her back and brought a hand up to her face, "I-Ink?!"

Sonia gasped deeply as she scrambled away from Blizzard Kyuubi in her surprise, _'I...I nearly passed out from that…'_ she looked at her tail and cringed, _'And now I'm gonna have to use another bottle of shampoo just for my tail again!'_

"...clever girl...I did say use whatever means to win…" Blizzard Kyuubi whispered, standing on her knees as she looked at Sonia, "Nice tactic. Should you try this in a real match however, you would've been disqualified...that is, if the ref isn't knocked out, kyu."

"S-Sorry," Sonia apologized, "I couldn't really think in that hold."

"...Understandable. It's a hard move to get out of," Blizzard Kyuubi admitted, "Though be thankful it wasn't a bridgelock."

"Wh...what's that?"

"It's where I hold you up high while pulling your arms and legs back, the latter either straight or in a lock."

"...Okay, so don't get in that hold," Sonia whispered to herself.

"Also, you need to be on the offensive. Otherwise, I'll end up getting you into the mat all day," Blizzard Kyuubi advised.

"Easy for you...I can barely get you into a lock with those tails of yours…" Sonia muttered, _'And I'm here with just one tail with the tip covered in ink. ...Covered in ink...huh. Now that I think about it, I'm annoyed with having to clean it, but…'_ she glanced at her tail, _'Feels kinda right?'_ she yelped, managing to avoid the tails trying to grab her, _'Focus, Sonia! Focus! Think about the wolf…be the wolf...take advantage...find the exploit...'_

"Come on...Is this all you have, Misora?" Blizzard Kyuubi taunted.

' _Mmm...those tails...If only I can get her into a spot where she can't use them…'_ Sonia thought before sparing a glance to her tail and brush, _'...Maybe…'_

"Gotcha!" Blizzard Kyuubi shouted as she pounced at her.

Sonia whipped out the brush, letting the world slow and turn sepia to her. She tapped the ground behind her with a single dot. She put it back and rolled out of the way just as time resumed. Blizzard Kyuubi expected to land, spin, and pouce. What she did not expect? A tree growing out of the ground in an instant where Sonia had been and crashing into it.

"...i...te…" Blizzard Kyuubi groaned as she fell backwards onto the mat, her tails becoming limp as she tried to fight the pain.

' _Now!'_ Sonia thought, grabbing her brush and quickly dotting several spot around the downed fox, making several trees that surrounded Blizzard Kyuubi, "Got you!" she pounced, landing on Blizzard Kyuubi with a pin.

"Gah! Y…" Blizzard Kyuubi began, only to tense when she couldn't move her tails, _'...Why can't I...Th-the trees…!'_ she thought before noticing her tails were wrapped up in some vines that had grown with them, _'...clever girl…'_

"One...two...three…" Acid counted, "Four...five...six…"

"...I won't lose like this..." Blizzard Kyuubi grunted as she managed to force Sonia off, "I can't use my tails, but my other limbs are still as strong…"

' _...Meaning I'll have to get her in a hold if I want to beat her…'_ Sonia thought, _'And she's still in her waveform too...think, Sonia, think…'_

' _Can't even use my signature moves…'_ Blizzard Kyuubi thought, looking back at her tangled tails as she pulled them off the vines, _'So I'll have to avoid using my tails. Meaning...'_

' _...I just need to get her in a hold…'_ both girls thought in unison.

"Even with the disadvantages she has, Sonia's managing well to fight off someone wave-changed," Ace noted, "That brush is a good equalizer for her in this."

"True, but even without her tails...Ms. Nanaya's other limbs are still going strong…" Tia added, "The only way Sonia is going to be able to win is weaken them via submission holds, or get her to tap out."

=Mmm...I'm missing out on the fun~!= Issun complained =At least tell me mud is involved!=

"No mud," Geo deadpanned.

=AH MOU~!= Issun exclaimed before he started chanting.

"What are you doing?" Geo asked.

=Praying to the Kami for mud on the stage and for me getting able to see it= Issun replied, pausing in his chanting before resuming it.

"...Perverted gnat…" Omega-Xis muttered as Blizzard Kyuubi and Sonia got each other into a grapple stance, one trying to force out of the lock and take over the situation.

"Got to..admit...not doing...too bad…" Blizzard Kyuubi grunted out, pushing Sonia back a bit.

"Ari...gatou…" Sonia replied in a grunt, managing to push her back.

"Hai. But remember...pay...atten…" Blizzard Kyubi began, attempted to leg sweep her again before Sonia's leg caught her own, "?!"

"Your leg tensed…" Sonia informed as she tripped her opponent up, "And thanks…" she managed to get Blizzard Kyuubi over her, "...for…" she grabbed her arms and legs and pulled, "...explaining this!"

"Gh~?!" Blizzard Kyuubi tensed up, being held up as Sonia kept her arms and legs back, _'Ahh...why'd I explain that move to her?!'_

=I hear grunting and moaning! What's happening now!?= Issun shouted.

"Surfboard," Omega-Xis replied, earning a look from Lyra, "...What? I looked up the names of those wrestling moves."

"Now...do YOU yield, Miyuki-san?" Sonia grunted out.

' _...mm...can't use my tails without getting them tangled by those trees…'_ Blizzard Kyuubi thought, grunting and gasping a bit in pain, _'Ahh~ sh...she's got a good hold on me...can't even get out...It's my starting match all over again…'_

"Do you yield or not?!" Sonia shouted as her tail flicked a bit, sending a bit of ink onto Blizzard Kyuubi's exposed back, earning a slight small moan from her, "..."

=...Okay, THAT was definitely a sexy moan that time!= Issun exclaimed, the Star Carrier managing to hop a little.

"..." Geo put a rock on top of the Star Carrier, his cheeks pink.

=AW COME ON! YOU PUT WEIGHT ON IT?!=

"We're scared of what you'll draw if you see this."

=What?! Well I never!=

"Little liar…" Omega-Xis muttered as Sonia finally let Blizzard Kyuubi fall onto the mat, the older woman dismissing her Wave Change as she panted, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"...Um...Should we…" Ace began.

"I will hit you with the bell again," Tia warned.

"..." Ace made a motion of zipping his lips shut.

"...M...Miyuki-san? Da...Daijobu?" Sonia cautiously asked.

"H-Hai...It's just...guess I've been stressed for quite a while myself...kyu…" Miyuki panted out, _'Doesn't help I barely get time to myself outside of matches, public appearances, and photoshoots…Mou...I need a boyfriend...'_

"U-Um...D-did we lose?" Miyuki's new partner asked, the material making her cheeks now a faint pink.

"H...hai...sh...she won..kyu…"

"...Oh sweet merciful Kami-sama…" Sonia sighed in relief as she fell to her knees, "Does that mean…?"

"Hai..I'll teach you the Oina Tribe's techniques…"

"...A-and having your Wave Form's appearance..how did you do that?"

"...sh-she asked me," Frost answered.

"?!" Sonia's eyes widened as her ears and tail stuck up...before her eyes narrowed as she slowly turned her head to Lyra, "Lyra-chan…"

"In all honesty? With how long we've used our normal Wave Change, I completely forgot about it," Lyra informed, inching behind Geo.

"How do you think I put my head back on his hand?" Omega-Xis huffed.

"...sh-shut it, baka-ryu."

"In...all seriousness…" Miyuki panted out as she managed to get up, using one of the ropes to stand, "C...congratulations, Misora Hibiki…"

"...i-"

"When an outsider wins the test against a Oina Tribe member, they gain a new name to call themselves within the tribe, but can still use their official name…" Miyuki explained.

"O-Oh…" Sonia noted.

"Hai...plus...to help finish indicting you…" Miyuki began, lowering herself a bit as she grabbed a gym bag on the side of the ring, "I got you something."

"Eh? Honto?" Sonia asked.

"Look...inside…" Miyuki panted as she tossed the bag over to her.

"...A...are you.." Sonia began as she caught the bag.

"Trust me...that little fight and those ink splashes have me a bit…'playful' at the moment, and I'm holding it back as best as I can right now…"

"?!" Sonia tensed before her face turned bright pink, "G-Gomen nassai!"

"It's fine...demo...Frost-chan, stay and watch them. I...need to head back to my room for something…" was all Miyuki said as she climbed out and ran off in her fox form.

=...Is...is the fight over? I...I can't tell!=

"Fight's over…"

=Aw man~!=

* * *

"...Actually, this looks pretty cute on me," Sonia noted, looking at her reflection in the mirror in her room, the redhead in her new attire.

The outfit was an interesting attire. Her legs all the way up to just below the thighs were covered in a metallic fishnet pair of stockings while her feet were covered in pink boots with metallic white steel toes. She had a dark-blue skirt with a black belt with a white buckle resembling a wolf head. Her upper body was covered in a pink and white fabric resembling a sleeveless button shirt without any buttons. The only thing keeping the top shut was a dark-blue band wrapped around her waist while a white scarf covered her neck, the ends resembling the ends of a paintbrush and even colored black at the ends. More of the metallic fishnet fabric covered her arms all the way up to just below her shoulders while pink gloves reaching to below her elbows covered that. The backs of her pink gloves sported dark-blue music notes while her fingers and thumbs were colored white; a white cloth was tied on her elbows with the ends resembling the ends of her scarf. She reached up and adjusted the dark-blue bow in her hair, a white wolf pin keeping the bow together.

"It's not constricting, is it?" Lyra asked.

"Iie. Fits just perfect," Sonia assured as she looked over at a small white wolf mask on her dresser decorated with red markings, _'...Guess I have to wear that within areas owned by the Oina Tribe…'_ she mentally guessed.

"That's good," Lyra noted, "It looks incredible on you, Sonia-chan."

"Arigatou, Lyra-chan," Sonia thanked with a giggle, "...Demo...should we get more Fudegami techniques...is…"

=i...it adapts with the wearer's growth…= Frost whispered from Sonia's VG Hunter.

"...Why is…"

=M...Miyuki is still...b-busy…= Frost blushed.

"A-Ah…" Sonia squeaked, blushing as well.

=...St...still..you did really well, Sonia...I-I mean Misora! G...gomen...I'm sorry I got it wrong…= Frost whimpered.

"It's fine. You just...got dealt a bad hand with...you know who…" Lyra assured.

"And I'm okay if you call me either name," Sonia added.

=...o...okay…=

"...Well...guess before we head back and continue the search for the saplings, we can at least try for one day at the beach," Lyra offered to Sonia.

"Oh, that'd be perfect!" Sonia beamed before pulling out a one piece swimsuit with a heart cutout in the back, a hole for her tail, and red designs decorating it, "I got this with the wrestling gear! I had to add the hole for my tail, though..."

"...It'll still look cute on you regardless, Sonia," Lyra assured.

=H..hai…= Frost added =P...plus..I bet Geo-san will like it=

"Hai!" Sonia beamed.

* * *

"...Is it ready yet?" Vulpecula asked, her back turned to her servant.

" **They are prepared to move out at your command, Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu replied.

"Good...then send them out…" Vulpecula ordered, "I want to see that fake goddess squirm...I want to see her and those around her-minus my beloved- fall into despair…"

" **Hai, Vulpecula-sama,"** Karasu spoke before flying off.

"Soon, my beloved…" Vulpecula whispered, a small smile growing on her face, "Soon you won't have to deal with those traitors and filthy ningen…"

* * *

 _SZ:..oh dear. That..is not good._

 _GT: Hoo boy. Guess no day at the beach without attacks for Sonia._

 _SZ: Indeed..but question is...is Vulpecula targeting Sonia...or is it someone else?_

 _GT: May need to wait until next chapter for that, readers. So please Read and Review!_

 _SZ: Eeyup! Ja ne and have a good day/evening!_


End file.
